Crossroads
by MoSugar12
Summary: Max becomes the new girl in school for the fourth time in a row and at first it seems like all the others but before she knows it she's being drawn in by two different guys, one is dangerous and brooding, the other is strong and sweet, soon Max finds herself torn between the two and confused about which path she should take.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 1**

I don't know how I ended up in these situations.

I was riding in the car with Jeb and my three siblings Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy. Okay, I'm sure you have some questions already so let me explain. Jeb is our adoptive father; he picked each and every one of us out of the millions of other kids who could use a good home. And as for the names, well…let's just say Jeb had a knack for picking out accurate nicknames.

Oh and by the way, I'm Max.

So back to the problem, I'm riding in the car with my family on the way to some place none of us have ever heard before. All Jeb told us was that it was a small town and we probably wouldn't be able to get into trouble there.

Speaking of trouble….I turned around to glare at Gazzy from the passenger seat, it was his fault we were in this mess, this was our fourth move in the past two years, all because we couldn't seem to stop getting expelled from our schools, and for once it wasn't my fault. The last three moves had to do with me not being able to resist helping the underdogs, I had gotten in a little too many fights with the bigger kids and that was it, we were on our way, but of course the one time I decide to be good and not get into any fights we still end up getting expelled.

See Gazzy has a very weird love of anything explosive, it doesn't help that Jeb is a scientist either. The way Gazzy tells the story, apparently these kids were making fun of him for his digestive problems, he's always had a problem with passing gas, and my god does it stink, like to high heaven! Anyway, so I guess these kids were making fun of him and he decided he would get back at them by making his own personal gas bomb. And where does he put it you might ask? Right in the poor kids locker! As soon as that kid pulled open the door, BOOM! Of course Gazzy was instantly outed as the culprit and off to the office he went. And now because of him we were on our fourth move.

"I said I'm sorry Max what more do you want?!" Gazzy whined finally noticing the death stare I was giving him

"I want you to go back in time and not make that bomb." I said. Gazzy stared at me sheepishly. I knew I shouldn't be berating him like this since he's only a kid but I was too angry to care.

"Come on Max it'll be fun! We can meet new people and make new friends and have new teachers and just think of all the cute bunnies and horses we'll be able to see because we're going to live in the country! Oh I wonder what our new house looks like? I bet it's just like those fancy log cabins I see on TV, oh it's going to be great Max I can't wait to…."

"Okay Nudge you can stop now." I said holding up my hand in the universal "stop" sign. She was known around our house for never being able to stop talking, sometimes I wondered how she didn't run out of breath and pass out during one of her many famous monologues.

"She's right Max, it'll be fun." I heard a tiny voice squeak. It was Angel, my baby, my little girl. She was the youngest out of all of us but by far the sweetest, I would never admit it to anyone but I loved her the most.

"We'll have fun." she whispered causing my anger to melt away. I could never be mad at Angel.

"She's right Max, just calm down and give it a chance." I heard Jeb say beside me. I grumbled slightly trying to maintain my pissed off aura.

"Okay whatever." I grumbled. I grabbed my headphones out of my pocket and plugged them into my phone beginning to play the most loud, hardcore rock music I owned. I could no longer hear the voices around me talking and very slowly I drifted to sleep against the car window with the angry voices of rock and roll singers to soothe me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 2**

School was boring.

That's all there was to say about it, it went on for way to many hours, never fed us nearly enough food to contain our growling stomachs, and the teachers were like zombies just going through their days. It was all some mindless, endless rut and after three days I was already sick of it.

I didn't know how the students here managed to keep themselves entertained, but judging by the loose looks on their faces and the sort of hyperactivity they showed in class my guess was it had something to do with drugs, probably an amphetamine, maybe meth. God how stupid could these kids be, didn't they know how much meth messed you up? Trust me I knew all about that, perks of having a scientist as an adoptive father.

Since I wasn't about to get into the passing drug fad, I was stuck being bored out of my mind. I was just contemplating ditching second block when I felt someone ram into my shoulder with theirs.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" I yelled. They had hit me so hard that I lost the grip I had on my books and they went slamming in the floor, causing everyone in a mile radius to look up or hit the deck. I rolled my eyes at the mess on the floor and bent down to retrieve the scattered papers and textbooks. As I was reaching down to grab the last book I heard a voice speak.

"Maybe you should look where you're walking." I rolled my eyes still not looking up at the person, trying to balance all my books in my arms.

"Well I would hate to see how you are around blind people if you're blaming me for you not looking." I grumbled finally looking at whomever it was who had hit me.

He was gorgeous. He was tall, at least two inches taller than me so I had to actually look up to him. He was wearing dark slouchy jeans and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. He had shaggy dark back hair that fell in his face framing his dark eyes. They were so dark they looked almost black but upon a closer inspection I realized they were just a really deep, steely grey. His lips were full and pink, so perfectly shaped making me want to kiss him before I even knew his name.

"Well you should know I actually treat the blind fairly nice, especially since my brother is blind." he said smirking at me slightly.

"Oh." was all I could think to say. I was still staring at him awkwardly wishing so much that I had worn something other than my ratty old tee to school.

"I'm Fang by the way." he added looking me over. His eyes went from my toes to the top of my head and I couldn't tell whether or not he approved. Not that it mattered, he may have been cute, but I wasn't some damsel in distress who needed men to find me attractive and tell me I'm pretty 24/7. No, that was more like Lissa, this stuck up red-head in my chemistry class.

"Fang?" I mocked dubiously, "No way can that be your name." I said finally regaining my wits and returning to normal, humanoid Max. He awarded me with a full on smile.

"It's a nickname." he explained.

"Cute." I shrugged.

"You know usually when you tell people your name they respond with theirs" He took a step closer to me causing me to back up into lockers.

"Well I'm not just anyone." I retorted, sliding past him on the lockers and heading down the hallway to my next class. I didn't need some guy to distract me right now, I was already busy enough adjusting to moving again and helping Jeb with all of the kids, that guy was the last thing I needed, and the trouble he would surly bring.

* * *

><p>Lunch. The most irritating part of the day. I didn't know anyone in yet so I had no one to sit with, and of course there weren't any empty tables for me to fill. Finally, after several minutes of searching I found a mostly empty table. I walked over and set my stuff down at the end farthest away from the two kids at the end. When I looked over at them I noticed they were already staring at me. It was a boy and a girl. The boy had strawberry blonde hair and really pale skin, almost ghostly, his head was pointed in my direction but I wasn't sure if he was actually looking at me or not, it didn't help that he was wearing dark sunglasses. Weird right? The girl was very clearly staring at me. She had long dark hair and tan skin with large chocolate brown eyes. She was clearly of Hispanic descent.<p>

"Hey why don't you come sit here with us?" she asked me, her voice was strong but sweet. I didn't want to be rude, especially since they were being so nice to me so I just nodded and moved over to where they were sitting, planting myself right in front of the girl.

"My name is Ella," she said as soon as I got situated, "and this here is Iggy." she added. Iggy nodded his head at me but I still felt like there was something a little off.

"What's with the sunglasses kid? Is the cafeteria a little too bright for you?" I asked him sharply. I wanted to know what this kid's problem was.

"Actually I'm blind, and it helps people feel more comfortable around me when I wear them." he said confidently. Instantly I felt bad.

"You know I love you no matter what." Ella said planting a kiss on the Iggy's cheek, it was cute in a semi odd way.

"So who are you miss sass?" Iggy teased.

"I'm Max." I responded sheepishly.

"Hey Iggy, who's this sitting with you guys?" I heard a voice say behind me. I looked back and saw the boy from earlier, Fang. Oh no, not good, I thought.

Fang set his tray down right in front of Iggy, which happened to be right beside me.

"This is Max." Iggy told him. Fang looked at me hard, finally realizing who I was.

"Oh hey, you're the girl from earlier, the one who wouldn't tell me her name. Well now I know, although I'm insulted you didn't tell me first." he said, his voice dipping low on that last part. Was he flirting with me? I couldn't tell. It's not like I was all that special with my ratty tee and my ripped up skinny jeans.

"So I guess this is the brother you mentioned." I responded trying to keep my voice level.

"Yeah, this is Iggy, I know we don't look much alike but we're brothers. He got all the smarts and I got all the looks." he joked.

"Yeah whatever man, at least I've got a girl." Iggy retorted planting a somewhat inappropriate kiss on Ella. I swear I could see their tongues snaking in and out of each other's mouths. Ella stopped the kiss first and giggled slightly.

"Come on we don't want to scare Max away." she laughed. I looked down for a second thinking.

"Actually I have to go anyways, I told my teacher I would show up early to help her set up for class, something about birds I think." I told them, standing up and retrieving my things. They all protested for a minute or two and it took me a while to convince them, mostly Ella, that I had to go. Eventually though they all said goodbye and I was able to make my escape. I couldn't get involved with those people. What if I ended up actually liking them and becoming friends with them? It would just hurt even more when we are forced to move again. And what about Fang? There was something about him that just gave me goose bumps. Every time I looked into his eyes I got a strange warm feeling in my lower abdomen that seemed to spread to every place in my body. No! I didn't need that kind of trouble; right now I just needed to focus on surviving high school. I would learn how to float, or in my case, I would learn how to fly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 3**

"Oh Fang!" I moaned breathlessly. Fang didn't respond, just kept going, his tongue slid slowly all over my skin leaving goose bumps. I could feel him working his way back up from my stomach to my chest where he stopped to nip each of my breasts with his teeth making me arch my back and moan with pleasure.

"Don't stop!" I pleaded. I could feel him smirking into my skin as he continued his way up my body, his tongue traveled up from my chest to my neck where he bit down softly. I rolled my head to the side to give him better access to my neck and he hungrily took advantage of the opportunity by beginning to bite harder and suck on my pulse point. My hands became possessed causing my fingers to tangle up in his hair and press his head harder into my neck. He moaned quietly breaking away from my neck to finally move to my lips. His lips were so close to mine, only about an inch away. I wanted him so badly, I wanted to feel his lips on mine, wanted to massage his tongue with my own. He slowly moved forward…..

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!"

I groaned and rolled over hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock. 6am was too early to be waking up for school.

"Oh shit!" I gasped. The dream from last night had finally come back to me, the feel of Fangs hands moving all along my body, the pleasure from his tongue sliding up my torso. I held back a moan from the memory of the dream; it had seemed so real and vivid. I shook my head trying to erase the dirty thoughts running through my head. I couldn't believe that I had dreamed about Fang like that, it was totally embarrassing. I needed a shower, a cold one. I got up slowly grabbing clothes out of my drawers and quietly tip-toed to the bathroom, all the other kids didn't have to get up for another hour, lucky them. I slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower to the coldest temperature it would go. After stripping down I decided to study myself in the mirror. I frowned at my reflection; I wasn't anything super special; I was tall with long tan legs and small strong arms. My stomach was mostly flat with only a small amount of fat, my hips were curvy and soft, and my breasts were nice and round, I was average. I stopped staring and hopped into the shower. I gritted my teeth instantly trying to hold in a scream of pure torture, the water really was freezing, but it kept my mind off of Fang, and all the dirty things I wish he would do to me.

By the time I got to school all my impure thoughts had been safely locked into a box and I was ready to focus on anything except Fang. I was walking down the hallway when I heard someone behind me speak.

"Hey, you know all of your friends are the other way." I immediately stiffened at the sound of his voice in my ear. Of course it was Fang; I blushed at the thought of him being so close to me, memories of the dream returning to the front of my mind.

"I want to go to class, I'll see my friends at lunch." I responded picking up my pace slightly hoping he would leave.

"Why do you try so hard to avoid us?" he asked me suddenly. I stopped walking and turned to stare at him.

"I'm not trying to avoid you guys, I think you guys are great." I responded sheepishly. His eyes studied mine for a couple of seconds.

"Even me?" he whispered placing his hand on my waist. My eyes widened and I felt another blush creep up my neck and onto my cheeks. I could feel my heart start to race in my chest; it felt as if my heart was going to explode.

"Come on Max, tell me the truth." he added. He started to pull me into him, his hand snaking around to my lower back. My mouth opened but no sound came out, I was feeling weird, very weird. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to kiss me or not, my body definitely wanted him to, but I wasn't sure my heart did. I could feel heat and electricity stemming from where Fangs hand rested on my back.

"I…I…" I stuttered uselessly. His whole body was now pressed against mine causing a pleasurable warmth to spread throughout my limbs, I couldn't even breathe I was so nervous. I wanted him so badly.

"I have to go." I said pushing him away from me, finally getting in a breath of air. My heartbeat was still racing as I turned away from him and practically ran down the hallway to my classroom.

* * *

><p>I spent the rest of my morning in silence. I was so confused. Clearly Fang wanted me or else he wouldn't have pulled that stunt in the hallway. It was so aggressive yet non-forceful and part of me really loved it and part of me really hated it. I knew I couldn't face him during lunch so I made a plan to sneak into the library and spend my lunch period in there. As soon as the lunch bell rang I ran to the library finding an empty love-seat in the corner away from the entrances. I made sure that no one could find me if they came in looking for me, the corner was so secluded I doubt many people even knew it was here, actually if I was being honest, I doubt many people even came to the library, half of the druggies in this school probably couldn't even read.<p>

I pulled a random book off the shelf and settled into the chair, curling my feet up underneath me and leaning my elbow on the arm. I had gotten no more than 30 pages when I was interrupted.

"I hate to break it to you but the girl dies in the end." I sighed irritably, rolling my eyes and looked up. In front of me stood one of the most gorgeous guys I had ever seen. He was golden tan with dirty blonde hair that was neatly combed. He was tall and muscular but not so much so that it was disgusting, it was just right, his lips were utterly kissable, and his eyes were gorgeously blue, but not just any kind of blue, an aquamarine blue, the color of tropical waters. He was stunning.

"Sorry, hi, I'm Dylan." he said putting out his hand for me to shake.

"Max." I managed to reply before reaching out and shaking his hand, his grip was firm and strong. He smiled at me revealing perfectly straight white teeth.

"Sorry about the spoiler alert." he said, "I just figured I'd warn you before you got too involved."

"You really should tag your spoilers." I teased him.

"So what's Max short for? Maxine?" he asked sitting down next to me on the loveseat.

"It's short for Maximum." I grimaced. I loved my name, a lot, but it often threw other people for a loop, after all, who names their child Maximum? He nodded slowly at me.

"I was adopted when I was just a kid and Jeb, the guy who adopted me, told me I could pick my own name and after weeks of thinking I finally decided on Maximum, Max for short." I explained. Usually I didn't bother explaining my name to people, most of the time I didn't even give them my real name, just agreed to Maxine, but something about this guy made me want to tell him the truth.

"No, it's okay, you don't have to explain, honestly I think your name is cool, and for some odd reason I have the strange feeling that it suit you, Maximum." he teased giving my shoulder a soft nudge with his. I smiled at him gratefully.

"So what are you doing back here? I thought this school was full of idiots?" I asked.

"Well you're not the only one who likes to read, and clearly you haven't looked around long enough if you think we're all idiots, although to be honest most of us are." he joked, his voice dipping to a whisper. I laughed out loud, my voice echoing off of the dusty pages.

The bell rang loudly causing my laughter to taper off. I started rushing to put my books back into my back pack.

"Sorry I have to get to class, I can't be late." I apologized. He frowned slightly seeming disappointed.

"Well, will I see you again?" he asked me solemnly.

"I'll meet you back here tomorrow, same time, same place." I told him quickly.

"Alright, I'll see you then Maximum." he said, causing me to smile. He picked himself up and vanished between the bookshelves. He was so perfect, so sweet and funny and kind and I loved that he called me Maximum.

Finally I finished packing and ran off to my next class, but it wasn't until I had settled myself in my seat that I realized that I had been hoping that Fang would be the one to find me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 4**

"Where have you been the last couple of days?" Ella asked me as I sat down at the lunch table. This was my first time here since that day I had met Dylan in the library. The only two reasons why I was sitting there with them was because one, I knew Fang wouldn't be there with them, and two, Dylan couldn't meet me for lunch.

"I've just been busy." I told her nonchalantly. I could feel Iggy studying me.

"Bullshit! You're totally lying, where have you been going during lunch?" he suddenly blurted out. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How did you know I was lying?" I asked him skeptically. Iggy smirked at me.

"Being blind has certain advantages, like being able to tell when someone is lying." I opened my eyes wide at him, could he actually tell I was lying by the sound of voice? Could he hear my heart beat?

"And you just admitted to lying." he added laughing loudly. I stared at him dumbfounded then started laughing too. Ella shushed us, rolling her eyes at our immaturity.

"Alright you got me." I told them, managing to quiet my laughter.

"So what have you been doing?" Ella asked me pointedly. I hesitated for a second but I saw no reason to lie to them and I didn't want to break their trust in me, after all they were some of the few friends I had at this school.

"I've been hanging out in the Library during lunch." I told them, shrugging.

"That's it?" Ella asked. I bit my lip stalling.

"Well, I've kind of been hanging out with this guy I met, he seems pretty cool, really sweet and funny, sort of a jock." I explained. Ella squealed with delight, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Is he cute? Do I know him? What's his name?" she asked quickly, it took me a second to figure out what she had said she was talking so fast.

"I don't know if you know him but his name is Dylan, and yes, he's really cute." I said with a huge grin on my face. I couldn't help it, Dylan just made me smile. When I looked at Ella her mouth was open in a perfect o.

"What, does he have a girlfriend? Is he gay?" I asked, my hysteria rising.

"No, no, no, nothing like that." she told me quickly allowing me to breathe properly.

"Then what is it?" I asked her.

"Well, um, it's just, well, see…"

"Fang hates Dylan." Iggy said interrupting Ella. Ella looked down at her hands trying her best to ignore the situation.

"Why?" I directed at Iggy. He shrugged.

"You'll have to ask Fang, he should tell you himself." Iggy responded. I groaned in frustration.

"Well it doesn't matter if Fang likes him or not because I like him." I told him. Then suddenly realizing what I said I tried to backtrack.

"I mean I don't like him like that, I mean we're just friends, he is cute but I don't know him that well, we're just friends." I added hastily.

"No need to get all defensive Max, we get it." Ella whispered, finally rejoining the conversation. She patted my hand softly. I'm sure she meant it to be comforting but it just irritated me. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

"You know I forgot to tell you earlier but Fang feels really bad about what happened in the hallway the other day." she said. I looked up at her shocked, this time my mouth becoming a perfect o. How did they know about that? Did Fang tell them? Why did he feel bad? Iggy shushed her and then began to explain.

"Fang told us after it happened, he felt bad for coming onto you like that, especially so strongly, that's why he hasn't been around much lately, he's trying to give you space, he really doesn't want to ruin anything between you guys." he said with a shrug. I was still in shock.

"So….does that mean he like…..I don't know….likes me or something?" I stuttered.

"Who knows, maybe yes, maybe no, you're going to have to ask him." he told me. I really started to hyperventilate then. I couldn't handle the idea of Fang liking me because I knew a part of me really liked him too but I didn't need a relationship, I needed to focus on taking care of Nudge, and Gazzy, and Angel, they were still having a hard time with the move. So what if the idea of his lips on mine gave me goose bumps? I was going to have to get over that, or maybe I could just kiss him, just once, or maybe twice.

"Shit Ella." I heard Iggy say, but his voice seemed very far away. All I could focus on was my rapid heartbeat and lack of breath.

"Max! Max! You need to relax." was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

* * *

><p>Let me tell you, passing out sucks, especially if you're like me and you pass out from your anxiety giving you a panic attack. It's not at all like the movies; you don't just fade to black and then wake up in some comfortable room with cute doctors looking in on you. No, when you're me and you pass out you dream, and not just any kind of dream, crazy dreams, like being on acid, it would be fun if it wasn't so freaky. And I don't get to wake up to a cute doctor; instead I wake up to some fat nurse clapping her hands around my ears.<p>

"What the hell!" I yelled bolting up and covering my ears.

"Watch yourself, missy" the fat nurse told me walking away with a clipboard. She had the nerve to tell me to watch it? She was the one trying to make me deaf!

I groaned and sat up slowly rubbing my head looking for a lump, luckily there didn't seem to be one. I was so distracted by looking for a bump that I didn't notice someone come into the room. It wasn't until they sat down on the cot with me that I even looked up.

"Oh." I gasped when my eyes met steely grey ones, it was Fang.

"Hey, how's your head?" he asked softly reaching up to feel the back of it. Without thinking I leaned into his touch.

"Good, I don't think I hit it on anything when I passed out." I whispered. He nodded at me, his eyes dark with worry. He seemed different in here with me, more vulnerable and soft, like a whole different Fang.

"I just wanted to say personally that I'm sorry about what I did in the hallway, I got a little overzealous and I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable or nervous." he whispered back to me.

"It's okay, I was just caught off guard is all." I hadn't noticed it until now but during our conversation I had been slowly leaning towards him, part of me said it was because I wanted to hear him better, but most of me knew the real reason why.

"I'm not an animal, I can control myself if you want me to, just say the word Max." he said softly. My lips moved closer to his, there was only about two inches between us now, my head began to tilt.

"Maybe I don't want you." I breathed. His lips were so close now. He sharply drew a breath then began titling his head as well. I closed my eyes and felt his lips graze mine.

"MAX!"

I jerked back so fast at the sound of my name coming from the doorway, it was Jeb. He looked at me disapprovingly then glared at Fang.

"The nurse called, I'm here to take you home." he said sharply. I just nodded at him completely dazed. He already had my backpack in his hand so there was nothing left for me to do but get up and follow him.

At the doorway I glanced back at Fang, he looked slightly disappointed but had a small smile on his face.

"Maybe we can finish that kiss some other time." he said with a slight smirk. I looked down at the floor blushing hard.

"Yeah." I agreed, walking out of the room and following Jeb to the car. It was going to be a long ride home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 5**

Nothing is more awkward than getting the sex talk from your adoptive father. Nothing. I thought Jeb was going to have a heart attack the whole time he was talking. I guess it helped that he's scientist because then he could put it all in medical terms. He went over the basics, you know insert Tab A into Slot B, blah blah blah, but then he decided to go over the statistics of teens who get pregnant and develop all sorts of nasty diseases, and as soon as he started talking about my fertility, I tuned him out, it was gross, and not to mention weird.

I guess it was good practice for him, after all he was eventually going to need to have the sex talk with Nudge, and Gazzy, and Angel, I mean they weren't going to stay kids forever. And maybe when he talked with them his face wouldn't be so red and he wouldn't mumble so much.

You know Jeb was really overreacting, I mean did he really need to be giving me the sex talk because I almost had a kiss in the nurses office and he had walked in on it. It's not like I hadn't kissed other guys before, there were some mediocre kisses, and most of them from the guy I dated about two schools back named Sam.

"Are you listening Max?" Jeb asked. I snapped out of my daze and looked at him.

"Yeah, no sex, ever, got it." I replied sarcastically. Jeb rolled his eyes at me.

"Don't get smart Max, I'm only looking out for you." Jeb said exasperatedly.

"I know Jeb, but I think I can handle this." I told him. He nodded at me and left my room. Thank God, I thought finally taking a breath since I had arrived home. Nothing could get more awkward than that. That was probably going to be one of the most painful experiences I'd ever have, but of course, karma had to prove me wrong.

* * *

><p>Fang found me while I was at my locker getting my textbook for first block<p>

"Hey Max." he said.

"Hey." I replied turning around, I'm sure Fang had some things to say about our kiss getting cut short.

"How are you? You didn't get in trouble with your dad or anything did you?" he asked me. I blinked at him surprised, that was not at all what I thought he was going to say.

"Um yeah, Jeb, I mean my dad, just talked with me a little but that was it, he didn't get mad or anything, I mean I'm sixteen almost seventeen, what's he going to do about it." I said with a shrug.

"Oh, well in that case, do you think we could finish what we started yesterday?" Fang asked me, the bravado creeping back into his voice.

"I don't know if it's a good idea." I grimaced at him.

"You thought it was a good idea yesterday." he pointed out.

"Well yeah but that was after I had passed out, I wasn't exactly in my right mind." I retorted, my voice dripping with attitude.

"Or maybe you were." Fang answered me, unintimidated by my harshness. He took a step closer to me making me press my back against the lockers. This scene was beginning to seem all too familiar, only this time, I wasn't sure I wanted to run away to class. He started leaning in towards me causing me to draw in a sharp breath. I stared at him wide eyed. He was getting even closer now.

"Hey Maximum!" I heard someone call out. I looked sharply to the left and saw Dylan, he had come to my rescue, or ruined a moment, I wasn't sure yet.

"You okay?" he asked me concernedly.

"Yeah." I told him sliding past Fang once again.

"Who's Maximum?" I heard Fang ask irritably. I looked at him and noticed that he seemed a bit confused and very angry, and then I remembered Iggy's warning that Fang hated Dylan, a lot.

"She's Maximum," replied Dylan, "Didn't you know that?" he asked Fang. Fang just stared at him.

"I thought you would know more about her considering how close you were to her just then." he added. Fang bristled immediately.

"How do you know her anyway?" Fang asked him, the hostility and loathing in his voice unmistakable.

"We spend our Lunch period together." Dylan said smugly. I could see this little conversation turning into a huge brawl so I stepped in between them, one of my palms on each of their chests.

"Come on guys relax, everything is fine okay." I tried to reason, I looked around and noticed a crowd had begun to gather around us, trying to see what would happen next.

"Why don't you stay out of it _Maximum_." Fang told me with such venom in his voice that I immediately dropped my hand and fell back.

"Hey why don't you leave her alone man!" Dylan told him, his voice rising steadily.

"Just get out of here Pretty Boy. No one wants you around, especially not her." Fang said through gritted teeth, taking an aggressive step towards Dylan.

"If she doesn't want me around then why does she always spend lunch with me? I'm pretty sure it's to avoid you." Dylan hissed taking a step and closing the gap between them.

I just stared at them open mouthed, I didn't want to try and get involved again, not with them so close together like that, I just couldn't believe they were fighting about me.

"It's about time I taught you a lesson Hollister." Fang said giving Dylan a strong push on his chest causing him to fall back a few steps.

"'Bout time I taught you some manners, Vamp." Dylan threatened, cracking his knuckles and advancing on Fang. The crowd had thickened and tightened around us.

"Guys stop!" I yelled in a last minute effort to make them quit fighting, but I was too late.

Fang threw the first punch; the crowd went wild, screaming and whooping. The punch hit Dylan right on his jaw. Dylan was quick to react; he took the punch smoothly then landed a low blow to Fangs stomach. Fang doubled over with pain then surprised Dylan with a quick punch to his eye which Dylan avoided easily.

"Come on Fang, I know you can do better than that." he taunted.

Fang faked a punch to Dylan's nose and managed to sneak in a strong hit to Dylan's chest, knocking him back a few steps. Dylan smirked and moved fast managing to get in a strong punch to Fang's jaw. I couldn't take it anymore!

"STOP!" I yelled throwing myself in the middle of the fight. Fang had already started moving before I got in the middle of them and there was nothing he could do to stop his momentum. He ended up punching me right in my right side, by my ribs. Stupid! I thought. I was so stupid!

Immediately I let out a scream of pain and lurched over holding my right side where Fang had punched me.

All the people surrounding us stopped cheering and stood dead silent.

"Oh my God Maximum, are you alright, how hurt are you, can you speak?" Dylan asked me crouching down to my level. I nodded at him trying to keep the tears from falling; Fang could really pack a punch.

"Look what you did you psycho!" Dylan yelled at Fang who just stood above me looking shocked at what he had done.

"I…..I didn't mean to." he stuttered, his voice sounding detached.

"I'm fine." I told them through gritted teeth. I stood up shakily trying to regain my balance; I leaned on the lockers for support. The pain in my side was sharp and throbbing. I needed and ice-pack ASAP or this was going to become one ugly bruise.

"No, you're not; I'll take you to the nurse." Dylan said softly grabbing a hold of my arm.

"Max, I'm so sorry, Max I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry, so incredibly sorry, please forgive me, I never wanted you to get hurt, I'm so sorry Max." Fang said desperately. His voice was full of tears.

"It's okay." I told him.

"No it's not okay, he hurt you, and he should be locked up." Dylan said starting to lead me away.

"Will you let go!" I yelled at him. "This is both of your faults, if you would have just stopped fighting when I said to, I wouldn't have had to intervene and I would have never gotten hit." Dylan dropped my arm looking shocked. Fang just stared at me sadly looking so devastated.

"Why don't you both just do me a favor and leave me alone!" I yelled at them. They both turned to look at the floor, avoiding eye-contact with me and each other.

"Scatter!" I screamed at the crowd and they immediately rushed off to their next classes leaving just us three standing in the hallway. I looked at them angrily.

"You guys are both ridiculous." I told them before hobbling off to the nurse's office for an ice-pack, my side throbbing.

And just the other day I had thought that Jeb's sex talk was going to be the most painful experience of my life, I was definitely wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 6**

The rest of that day sucked even worse, I didn't want to take the chance of going back to the nurse's office and having her call Jeb again. Last thing I needed was to explain why I had a giant bruise on my side, and if he found out it was because Fang had punched me, all hell would break loose.

"Hey kid." I whispered to the boy sitting next to me. I was in the middle of Math class trying to get the kids attention next to me while the teacher droned on and on about something unimportant.

"What?" he asked me, giving me his full attention.

"I'll pay you twenty bucks to do something for me." I told him hurriedly. His eyes widened at me.

"I'll do anything you want me to baby." he whispered to me. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Chill out kid, I just need you to go to the nurse to get me an ice-pack." I explained. He looked at me confused.

"But I can only get an ice-pack if I'm injured." he told me. I groaned.

"You want me to give you an injury or are you going to do this for me and take the twenty bucks?" I asked him sarcastically. I gulped.

"Su…sure…" he stuttered.

"Now!" I commanded him. He immediately looked to the front and raised his hand as high as he could.

Twenty minutes later I had my ice-pack.

* * *

><p>By the time I got home I already had a giant bruise. I pulled up my shirt and turned to the side, checking myself out in the full-length mirror. I sucked in my breath at the sight. The bruise went from just under my right breast to almost the end of my ribs. The center of the bruise was a dark purple fading out to a deep blue and then a green and lastly an ugly yellow. It was going to take weeks to fade away. Luckily it was fall so I could easily hide it from Jeb and my siblings, as long as they didn't touch my right side.<p>

"Hey Max." I heard someone call outside my door, scaring me and causing me to jump about three feet in the air.

"Coming!" I yelled; I rushed to pull my shirt down, making sure I was completely covered.

I opened the door quickly trying to look as innocent as possible, but it was just Nudge.

"What's up?" I asked her, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Well I wanted to know if you wanted to come see a movie and get dinner with me, and Jeb, and Gazzy, and Angel, were going to go see that new kids movie that looks really cute but not as childish as the other ones and I think it will be fun and I just want to know if you want to come along, it could be fun and I know how much you love chocolate chip cookies and we could buy you some at…" Nudge told me not even pausing to take a breath while she talked.

"That's okay Nudge, it's Friday and I just want to spend some time at home relaxing, you guys go and have fun though." I said interrupting her for the millionth time. She frowned at me, looking sad.

"Oh, okay." she said walking slowly away from my door.

"Next time I will go for sure, I promise." I called after her. She turned around and smiled at me looking grateful.

"And maybe one day we can go shopping, just you and me." I added. Her smile grew even bigger and she nodded at me, giving me a thumbs up before running off to catch up with the rest of the family.

I went back in my room and waited for them to drive away before migrating to the living room for some mind numbing T.V.

Before settling myself on the couch I grabbed a bag of peas from the fridge and held the bag to my bruised side, gritting my teeth at the cold.

Finally I managed to settle on the couch and get comfortable, the peas numbing the pain in my side. I had on some stupid show that made no sense, it just seemed like a bunch of girls sitting around complaining and drinking.

I had just started nodding off to sleep when the doorbell rang. I sat up, instantly awake. Who the hell would be at my house at this time of day? It was almost eight at night, Jeb and the family wouldn't be home for another two hours. I groaned and got up to answer the door, leaving the cold bag of peas sitting on the couch.

I opened the door to find Dylan standing on my porch looking sheepish and guilty.

"Wha….What are you doing here?" I asked him, looking shocked.

"I'm sorry for just showing up like this Maximum I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what happened today." he explained.

"Oh well, um, why don't you come in?" I asked him stepping out of the way and holding the door open for him. He stared at me for a second looking for my approval so I nodded at him and he walked inside slowly, I closed the door behind him.

"So how are you?" he asked me again.

"I'm fine." I told him leading him to the couch to sit down. He immediately sat down next to me, close, but not to close.

"He hit you right here right?" he questioned, taking the chance to run his hand so softly across my right side. His fingers were as soft as feathers against my ribs.

"Yeah, but it'll be fine, I just have to ice it a lot." I told him, willing him to keep his fingers on me, it felt incredible.

"You know I really am sorry Maximum, I should have never gotten into that fight with Fang, it kills me that you got hurt, you're so important to me and I can't live with myself knowing that you got hurt because of me." he whispered to me. He sounded so sad and his voice held such emotion that I couldn't help myself.

"It's okay, I forgive you, and you're important to me too." I whispered back, placing my hand softly on his face. He leaned in towards my touch and his hand moved from my side to my right hip where his grip became firmer.

"I…I think I love you Maximum." he spoke so softly I almost didn't hear him.

"I think I might love you too." I whispered back. Form there everything moved in slow motion.

His hand tightened on my hip and his face moved slowly towards mine. I leaned in as well, my lips quivering in anticipation. His eyes closed and so did mine and before I knew it his lips were on mine. They felt so soft against my lips, he moved slowly at first, making sure that I was comfortable with everything, but I wanted more. I wrapped both of my arms around his neck and pulled him into me, kissing him hungrily.

He moaned quietly against my lips wrapping his hand in my hair pulling softly. I gasped at the gentle pull from his hand in my hair and he took the opportunity to slide his tongue into my mouth. I moaned into his mouth as his tongue explored mine. My tongue fought back for dominance, taking a chance to explore the inside of his mouth. He tasted like summer rain.

Dylan pushed against my chest with his own causing me to lie back on the couch. He settled comfortably between my legs, never breaking the kiss. His hand released its hold on my hair and ran all along my left side. His touch was so delicate and soft and sweet. He broke away from my lips moving onto my neck, giving it soft kisses. I moaned a little louder causing Dylan to groan and bite down gently on my neck. I nipped at his ear playfully, causing him to moan louder.

I could feel his excitement through his pants, against my thigh. He wanted me, and I wanted him.

I tugged on the hem of his shirt and he quickly got the hint sitting up and pulling it off, but before he could go back to kissing my neck I surprised him by stripping off my shirt as well. His eyes paused, roaming over every inch of my smooth skin, stopping for a couple of seconds to appreciate the firm roundness of my breasts as the pushed against my bra. I ran my hands along the smoothness of his chest making him close his eyes and groan with pleasure.

"Oh Maximum." he moaned. I smiled at him and pulled his lips back to mine. I shimmied up slightly trying to stretch out further on the couch. He ran his lips down my chest, teasing the top of my breasts with his tongue, he nipped one firmly between his teeth, my back arched instantly and I slid up even further on the couch.

"Shit!" I yelped. Dylan froze instantly.

"What is it? Did I hurt you? Is it your side?" he asked quickly, sitting up and looking over me to make sure everything was okay.

"Yeah." I told him sitting up; I reached behind my back and pulled away the bag of peas that I had left on the couch. When I slid up trying to stretch out I had caught the cold bag of peas with my shoulder and it had shocked me, causing me to yell out.

"It was just this." I said showing him the bag of peas, "I'm sorry I ruined the moment." I told him sadly. He placed his hand on my bare shoulder, smiling.

"I'm just happy we had a moment to ruin, and hopefully we'll have another one soon." he told me grinning. I smirked at him and landed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Something tells me there's going to be plenty of other moments like this." I teased him.

"I should go though, I really only came to make sure you were okay, my dad is probably waiting for me at home." he explained.

"Okay." I said handing him his shirt and putting mine back on. We were silent as we fixed ourselves, making ourselves presentable. Finally I led him to the front door. I opened it letting in cold air from outside.

"Don't forget, I love you Maximum." he whispered planting a kiss on my lips. I blushed, looking at the ground smiling.

"I love you too Dylan." I answered. He kissed me one more time and then left, walking out the door and down the sidewalk.

I closed the door behind him and smiled, closing my eyes and reveling in the memory of his lips on mine.

I checked the time, my family would be home soon, and so I walked back to the couch, picked up the peas and placed them back into the fridge. I climbed the stairs and lay on my bed smiling at the ceiling. The smile dropped almost instantly, I had forgotten about something important while Dylan was here.

Fang.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 7**

I sat on my bed awhile thinking about Fang. I had forgiven Dylan, so shouldn't I forgive him too? I mean sure he was the one who threw the punch that hit me but it wasn't his fault, I had gotten in the way, it was my fault.

And what was I going to do about Dylan? I wasn't sure I loved him, I mean sure I was attracted to him but that was lust, not love. I just got so caught up in the moment and responded, and I think maybe it was a mistake. I mean just a couple days ago I wanted to kiss Fang, but then I end up kissing Dylan. What is wrong with me?

I made my decision quickly, I would forgive Fang, and I wanted to tell him in person. I decided that tomorrow I would go over to his house and make him speak to me, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

><p>When my family came home they were still talking excitedly about the movie they had seen. Something about a girl and a quest, I think Angel kept mentioning magic. I stood there and listened to them and offered all the right comments and observations, but my heart wasn't in it. Jeb seemed to notice my mood and told the others to leave me alone for the night. They complied, but not without several grumbles under their breath.<p>

"Thanks Jeb" I called out. He nodded at me and continued walking to his room.

"Goodnight Max." he whispered shutting his door for the night.

* * *

><p>"Morning everyone!" I said brightly as I walked into the kitchen the next morning. A chorus of good mornings echoed back to me.<p>

"Well you seem awfully chipper today." Nudge said eyeing me suspiciously.

"What can I say, for once I'm a morning person." I told her, shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah, for once." Gazzy mumbled under his breath. I narrowed my eyes at him but he just smiled at me, acting all innocent.

"Okay, I can see I'm not welcomed here so I'm leaving, I'll see you all later." I said, trying halfheartedly to walk out of the kitchen without anyone stopping me.

"Not so fast Max." Jeb called out. I groaned and rolled my eyes, turning around to face him.

"Where are you going? Who are you going to see?" he asked me seriously.

"Oh relax Jeb, I'm just going to see my friend Iggy, we have a science project to finish." I reassured him. I hoped he wouldn't notice the fact my voice cracked a little during my flat out lie.

"I guess that's okay. Just don't do anything stupid okay Max?" he begged me. I looked at him for a second; he really seemed worried about me.

"I won't" I promised seriously. He went back to cooking breakfast and I used that opportunity to make my escape.

* * *

><p>Fangs house wasn't very far from mine, only about a thirty minute walk. Luckily it was a nice day so I didn't mind the walk.<p>

And if you're wondering how I know where Fang lives, let's just say Ella isn't very quiet about her personal life with Iggy.

I arrived there around eleven, walking right up to the front door and pausing. I didn't know what would happen after I knocked, but I knew I had to try. So I sucked in a breath, closed my eyes, and knocked hard.

I waited for what seemed like a millennium but soon I heard someone coming down the stairs towards the door. I took a step back and tried to look presentable. The door opened.

"Whoever it is, just know I have a bat hidden somewhere in this house and I'm not afraid to use it." yelled someone from behind the door.

"Hey Iggy, it's me, Max." I told him stifling a laugh at his outrageous door opening response.

"Oh hey Max, what are you doing here?" he asked me, finally stepping out from behind the door and motioning for me to come into the house.

"I actually came to see Fang, is he here?" I inquired. Iggy paused, I could tell he didn't want to respond, he finished shutting the door and then he spoke.

"He's here, but he's not really up for visitors." he told me, choosing his words carefully.

"It will only take a second, you can just tell him I snuck past you." I offered. Iggy grimaced at me, thinking hard about what to do.

"Come on Iggy, pleeeeaaase, I have to make things right." I begged him. I shook his head.

"Fine, but tell him I at least put up a fight." he told me, walking away from me.

"You have yourself a deal." I called out behind him. When he was out of sight I turned towards the stairs and started taking them two at a time.

I got to the top of the hallway and swung a right, three rooms down I finally came to a door painted completely black, immediately I knew it was Fang's.

I knocked loudly twice.

There was no answer.

I knocked again.

Still no answer.

Finally I got so irritated that without thinking I just grabbed the door handle and walked in.

The first thing I thought upon walking in was, dark. The shades were closed and the curtains were drawn tight, blocking out all sunlight. The walls were painted a dark grey, giving the room and even more depressed feel. My eyes skirted over the bed and noticed the black covers and black sheets. After looking a little closer I realized there was a person still wrapped up in those sheets.

"Go away Iggy, I don't want anything." a voice mumbled.

"It's not Iggy." I told the body.

The person sat up and turned around to look at me, eyes widening in shock.

"Where's Iggy?" he asked me, slightly anxious.

"He tried to stop me but I managed to get past him." I explained, quickly remembering my deal with Iggy.

Fang just stared at me in shock; it was almost like he thought I wasn't really there, just a crazy dream, or maybe a nightmare.

"We need to talk Fang." I whispered coming to sit beside him on the bed. He shook his head fast scooting away from me, pressing up against the wall. I looked at him, really looked at him and truly noticed how bad he looked. His hair was greasy and limp, his eyes looked dead, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, reaching out to place my hand on his knee. He flinched from my touch.

"Max, I need you to leave." Fang told me, trying hard not to look at me.

"Fang, I just want you to know I forgive you, it was an accident what happened and I don't blame you, it's not your fault." I explained to him, willing him to look at me.

"Max, I hurt you, I literally punched you, and how can I live with myself knowing I did that?" he spoke softly.

"I'm okay Fang, there's a bruise but it will heal, I don't want you to beat yourself up like this, I forgive you." I told him.

"How can you forgive me!" he suddenly yelled, rising from the bed and pacing the floor of his bedroom.

"Because you're a good person Fang! And I know you didn't mean to!" I yelled back standing up as well.

He didn't speak for a while, just kept pacing the floor, finally I just grabbed his arm with both of my hands and forced him to stop pacing and just look at me.

"I forgive you. Now you need to forgive yourself." I said softly. He looked into my eyes, his dark grey ones filled with such guilt and sadness.

"You're everything to me Max." he whispered placing his hand gently on my cheek.

"And I'm okay Fang. I need for you to forgive yourself." I said reaching up to hold his hand against my cheek. He stared into my eyes a little longer and then nodded.

"Good." I told him gently. He slowly removed his hand from my cheek and sat back down on his bed, I sat next to him. Neither one of us moved for the longest time, without thinking I laid my head on his shoulder. Fang inhaled sharply but didn't move away. Quietly he reached over and grabbed both of my hands, intertwining them with his. We both breathed softly, trying not to disturb the moment, neither one of us talking.

And that's how we stayed for a long, long time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 8**

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked Fang the next morning. I came up beside him in the hallway just in time to see him quietly smile at the sound of my voice.

"Good." he answered quietly, bumping into my shoulder with his own softly.

"How's your side?" he asked me somberly.

"Perfectly swell." I answered, acting as cheerily as I could. Fang frowned at me and continued walking. I grabbed his arm and stopped him, forcing him to turn to me and look at me.

"We've been through this, I'm fine." I told him seriously. He nodded at me. We looked at each other for a second, studying each other. Then, before I could look away, he reached up, grabbing a piece of hair, and smoothed it behind my ear.

"Get off her!" I heard someone yell. I didn't even have time to glance around before I felt Fangs hand ripped away from the side of my face.

"What the fuck?!" I heard Fang yell in front of me.

"I said get off her." a voice said beside me, the voice sounded deadly and frightening. Finally I looked around to see who the hell this guy was picking a fight with me and Fang.

It was Dylan.

I took in the scene. Fang and Dylan were facing off, both of them standing tall, looking completely serious, and incredibly scary.

"Dylan, what are you doing?" I asked him, reaching out and tugging on his shirt sleeve, pulling him so we would look at me.

"I'm getting rid of this loser." he answered without looking at me.

"Come on he's not bothering me, we were just talking, everything is cool, just relax." I told him, my voice dripping with annoyance. Dylan looked at me at last, he studied me to see if I was bluffing and I stared back, proving I wasn't.

"She's telling the truth man, she came over to my house on Sunday, we talked, everything's cool dude." Fang told him, trying to calm the situation down. He stepped away from Dylan, sliding up beside me, his hands up in the universal "surrender" sign.

"Shut up Fang!" he whispered icily. His eyes had a look in them that put me on edge, he looked almost….dangerous, and not in a sexy way either, in a terrifying way.

"Is he telling the truth Maximum?" Dylan asked me. When he spoke to me his voice softened and he seemed almost caring.

"Yes, but, I had a good reason, I just wanted to make sure Fang was oaky, and I wasn't there that long, we didn't do anything bad, we talked and now everything's back to normal." I ranted on, sounding a lot like Nudge. I could feel Fang staring at me, after all, something had happened, I just wasn't sure what.

"Max let's go." I heard Fang whisper beside me. I was tempted to agree and walk away with him but I didn't want to just leave Dylan.

"Just go Maximum, I'll talk to you later, I'm glad you're okay." he said softly, the anger melting off of him causing him to return to the sweet guy I knew.

"Okay, I'll see you during lunch." I told him, reaching out to hug him. I guess something got confused in translation. I stepped towards him and wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him in for a good hug, his arms immediately wrapped around my waist and before I could move my face to the side of his neck he leaned in and kissed my lips softly.

I froze in surprise. Dylan didn't stop there. He tilted is head and deepened the kiss, attempting to kiss me hungrily. I kissed him back for a moment before remembering that Fang was behind us. I broke off the kiss suddenly and quickly stepped away from Dylan, blushing hard and frowning.

"Bye Maximum." Dylan said giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Bye Fang." he said smugly walking past us and disappearing around the hall.

"Fang, I…" I started, I didn't get very far, I just didn't know what to say, how did I begin to explain that kiss to Fang.

"Just save it Max, if you want to be with him you can, I'm sure way deep down he's a great guy, let's just go to class." he said not meeting my eyes. I reached out to touch his arm but he flinched away and started walking down the hall. There was nothing I could do but follow him.

* * *

><p>"Max, what the hell happened this morning with you and Fang and Dylan?" Ella said. Iggy was sitting next to her silently staring past me, you know because of the blindness, in case you're just clueing in now. We were eating lunch together, just the three of us. Fang has ditched the rest of school after our first block, and I chose to avoid Dylan, I didn't think I could look at him without feeling ashamed of myself.<p>

"It's a long story." I told her trying to casually brush past it.

"Then enlighten us." Iggy said sharply, causing me to wince slightly.

I stared at them for a second, building up courage, then, taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth and allowed the words to spill past my tongue and over my lips. They listened without speaking and I felt some relief over finally spilling the beans on the situation.

"Well just so you know that kiss really hurt Fang." Ella said to me.

"Yeah, what Dylan did was shitty, but you made it worse by letting him kiss you, and kissing him back." Iggy told me.

"I know!" I practically yelled at them. I covered my face with my hands to hide my tears and keep them from falling.

"I feel horrible, Fang won't look me in the eyes and I can't look at Dylan without feeling ashamed. I didn't want to hurt either of them, especially not Fang." I explained.

"Well you kind of did this to yourself Max." Ella said slowly. I knew she was trying not to anger me, but that comment irritated me anyway.

"You know this would have never happened if they haven't been stupid and got into the fight in the middle of the hallway." I answered sharply.

"Well you could also argue that it would have never happened if you hadn't gotten in the middle of their fight, you should have just left it alone." Iggy retorted.

"Okay I get that Fang is your friend so you're going to take his side, but I'm your friend too. If every time I see you guys you're just going to berate me for my choices, then I won't stick around, in fact why don't I go now." I told them. I started to stand up, proving that I would actually leave.

"No Max come on stay, we don't have to talk about it, it's none of our business anyway." Ella said, reaching out to grab my wrist. I nodded and sat back down.

Iggy shook his head, I could tell he still wasn't happy with me, and to be honest I wasn't very happy with myself. Ella noticed his foul mood and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. Iggy smirked and then proceeded to turn his head and kiss her full on the mouth. Ho he managed to kiss her lips with such accuracy while being blind I'll never know. I watched them kiss, they seemed to really love each other, but as soon as I saw tongues snaking in and out I looked away.

I got up; I didn't see any reason to stick around. They were going to be too involved in each other to talk to me and I knew Iggy didn't want to talk to me anyways. Fang was his brother, he was just looking out for him, and I would do the same thing for Nudge.

I just needed to get away from everyone.

So I did something I had never done before and will likely never do again.

I left.

I walked out of that school and not once did I look back.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry guys, I know this one isn't as good as the others, and it's definitely shorter, I've been busy with school and you know just life in general haha, but I'm gonna try to update every Sunday or before, thanks for all the reviews and favorites and such, you guys rock 3<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 9**

I decided to take the next day off. I didn't want to go to school and face the nightmare that was Fang and Dylan, so I did the next thing I thought I would never do. I lied straight to Jeb's face.

Long ago Jeb and I made a vow to never lie to each other. When he adopted me I was old enough to realize that he wasn't my real parents, that for all I know I was just some weird science experiment, a test-tube baby. Jeb sat down with me and we talked. He told me he was going to take me away from the place where the government was keeping me and that he would take care of me. I nodded, all strong and straight faced, and I didn't want him to see any sign of hope on my face.

When we reached his house I was immediately over whelmed by the cleanliness, everything looked immaculate, organized, and sterile, almost like a hospital. I was nervous and Jeb could see it as clear as day on my face.

"Hey." he said to me, trying to calm me down. "I know it looks scary, but I promise it's not. We're going to be happy here, and don't be afraid to mess things up." he winked at me. Slowly I walked forward and brushed my little fingers across the pillows.

"Go ahead." he said, "Mess them up." I stared at him then quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it to the other side of the couch. Jeb nodded at me to encourage me. I sat on the couch and bounced a little, causing little wrinkles to appear in the fabric.

"You can do better than that." he teased. By now I was smiling big. I stood up on the couch and jumped on it, dancing from one end to the other, leaping and bounding, I almost felt like I was flying, now there was an abundant of wrinkles and imprints and dips in the couch from my antics. At this point Jeb was laughing hard, I'm talking holding his belly and leaning over red-faced laughing. After about five minutes of flying I jumped off the couch and stood in front of Jeb. He kneeled down so he could look me in the eye.

"See, I would never lie to you, and I would hope that you would never lie to me, even if you get in trouble or do something bad, you can always tell me the truth okay?" he said softly to me. He looked so honest and sincere so I nodded.

"Yes sir." I told him. He frowned.

"Why don't you call me Jeb?" he asked me. I was nervous at calling him anything other than sir or mister, but he was being so kind to me, and he was adopting me so I agreed.

"Okay Jeb." I told him, stumbling a little over the name. He looked at me, it seemed like he was contemplating something.

"What would you like me to call you?" he questioned me. I was confused, he knew my name.

"Well at the place they called me…" I started.

"I know what they called you," he said, interrupting me, "but what would you like to be called."

I stared at him.

"You mean you want me to pick my own name?" I asked him. He nodded. My eyes immediately widened in surprise, I had never had an opportunity this great before, I was getting to pick the name that would stick with me for the rest of my life. I sat back on the couch and Jeb sat next to me. He was patient; I must have sat on that couch for an hour before finally turning to him.

"Maximum." I said, as clearly as I could. Jeb nodded.

"How about Max for short." I agreed quickly, I could live with Max.

"And your last name?" he prompted. By then I was really confused.

"Well wouldn't I just get your last name?" I probed. He shook his head.

"I figured you would want your own last name, your own personal identity." he explained. All of this seemed to make sense to me so I turned back to him quickly responded.

"Ride. Maximum Ride."

Anyway, that was the day I chose to never lie to Jeb, no matter how awkward or painful the truth would be. It was like our own personal agreement, I could always trust him and he could always trust me, which is why lying to him this morning would be so hard.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you don't have to go to school today?" he questioned me, clearly disbelieving.<p>

"Well all of the students are going on a field trip that they organized way before we moved here so I couldn't get in on it. All of my teachers told me to stay home because there wouldn't be any teachers there, just subs. Seriously Jeb, they told me to stay home, and I'm just following orders." I could hear my own voice shaking but Jeb didn't seem to pick up on it, Nudge, who was sitting next to me caught it and stared at me, luckily she kept her loud mouth shut.

"I don't know Max, it sounds a little crazy." he said dubiously, still concentrating on making the younger kids lunch.

"I totally know Jeb, but it's true, they're going to some local job fair to see all the different jobs and stuff, if you want I'll give you my teachers number, she said you could call her if you didn't believe her." I bluffed. I started to get up, making it look like I was going to get the number. My voice was still shaking and for some reason it kept shifting pitch, going from high to low.

"Just sit down Max, its fine, just stay home and behave, I've got to go, and Nudge, you need to hurry, it looks like you're taking the bus." Jeb said, finalizing all of the lunches and packing his briefcase for work.

"Okay." Nudge said irritably. She walked past me, stomping the whole way.

"You owe me big time." she muttered under her breath, grabbing her backpack and walking out of the door to the bus stop. I winced sharply. I already had a sick feeling in my stomach from lying to Jeb, and an even worse feeling because he bought the cheap lie so easily, now Nudge was going to hold this over me as blackmail forever. It was too late for me to go back, I had already dedicated to the lie and I didn't want to hurt Jeb by telling him it was a lie. I had never lied to him before, and as far as I know I would never lie to him again, not if it made me feel like this.

Soon Jeb was out the door and I was all alone, it was quiet, amazingly quiet. I finally felt at peace. All week I had been feeling like the world's biggest slut, fooling around with Dylan, and then still initiating things with Fang. I was an idiot. To be truthful, I didn't want Dylan, I didn't want anyone, I definitely had feelings for Fang, and I knew I loved Dylan, but I wasn't in love with him, I just got confused. He came over and I was feeling vulnerable and he told me he loved me and he kissed me and I just got caught up in it all. Fuck, I'm such an idiot.

I spent the rest of the morning cleaning; I think I did it mostly to make myself feel better about lying to Jeb. I had just sat down on the couch after making the house immaculate, and yes, it's the same couch I jumped on when I arrived, all the kids did, it's kind of tradition at this point, when I heard the doorbell ring. I groaned and rolled my eyes. Who the hell would be at my house in the middle of the day, everyone should be at school. I figured it was just UPS or something so without thinking I opened the door wide.

It was Dylan.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I practically yelled at him.

"That's not the greeting I expected." he answered chuckling. He pushed past me into the house; I was too shocked at his sudden appearance to stop him.

"Um what _are_ you doing here?" I asked him again. He just smiled at me and closed the door.

"Well I came to see you of course Maximum." he joked, taking a step closer to me. I put my hand out to stop him.

"Well as you've seen me, so maybe you should go." I told him, gesturing to the door. Now he was frowning at me, his eyes once again taking on a dangerous edge.

"But Maximum, I came all this way to see you, I at least expect a kiss." he spoke seriously.

"That doesn't seem like a good idea." I said softly, backing away from him a little.

"Come on Maximum, you said you loved me, I just want a kiss from my love." Dylan said slowly advancing on me. I was starting to feel uncomfortable, my breath was getting shallow.

"I might have made a mistake." I told him sheepishly. I glanced up at him and his eyes darkened.

"What kind of mistake?" he questioned me, deadly quiet.

"It's just maybe I'm not as in love with you as I thought, actually I don't think I'm in love with you at all, I mean you were my first friend when I came here so I care about you but…" I spoke, breaking off.

"So you lied to me?" he said. He reached out and grabbed my bicep, squeezing it hard, it hurt immediately, I winced hard.

"Ouch, Dylan that hurts, let go." I begged him, trying to wrench my arm away. His grip just tightened.

"You lied to me!" he continued, his voice now rising to a yell. I flinched at the loudness of his voice, still attempting to yank my arm free.

"Yes, but I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry Dylan, I just got caught up in the moment, I'm so sorry, please let me go." I cried out, begging him to release me.

"You liar!" he screamed finally releasing my arm.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry." I cried out, tears beginning to run down my face. He glared at me, his eyes focused and dangerous, I was scared, but I wanted him to know how sorry I was, maybe if he knew he would leave and we could pretend this never happened. I was wrong.

With no warning he reached out and shoved me, hard. The force of his push knocked me off balance and sent me flying back into the sharp edge of the small table behind the door. I cried out and fell to the floor sobbing.

"Maximum? Oh my god I'm so sorry!" I heard Dylan say above me. He knelt down to my level and wrapped his arms around me attempting to pull me into his chest, I was too scared to fight him, and I didn't want him to hurt me again. I let him pull me in as I sobbed, soon I felt his own tears dropping on my shoulder and hitting my arm. He was crying too.

After about an hour we had both stopped crying, he still held me, but we were quiet, no one spoke. Finally he let go of me and stood up.

"I've got to go, I'm so sorry Maximum, I love you, and I'll make this up to you I swear." he whispered to me as he walked quietly to the door. Without another word he walked out.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and leaned back against the wall, I sat there for a long time after, just remembering how to breathe.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so this one definitely got a little crazy, but ya'll craved updates and I was feeling a type of way haha, <strong>** I figured you guys deserved an early treat for being awesome, so I gave you an early chapter haha, ****anyways I hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for following and favoriting and reviewing, it definitely keeps me writing more, fly on lovelies 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 10**

I didn't move from my bed for three days.

Every time I got up to pee, I peed blood. When Dylan shoved me the sharp edge of the table stabbed into the small of my back, right where my kidney is, ergo the blood. It was painful to move, I couldn't bend or stretch or twist. The combined pain from the bruise in my side and the bruise on my back made getting up from my bed even harder to do, so I didn't.

I refused to speak. Jeb came to check on me every day, confused by my lack of a voice. I didn't show any symptoms of strep throat or any other disease, I looked as healthy as ever, no cough, no sneezing, but I couldn't speak. He spoke to me and I just looked right past him without really seeing him. He just couldn't figure it out. He kept trying to get me to eat, but I wasn't hungry, I just lay in my bed, looking up at the ceiling, wondering where I went wrong while Jeb's worry grew.

On the fourth day he sent in Angel, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist talking to her.

"Maxie, why won't you speak?" she asked my softly, placing her small hand on my cheek. For the first time in over three days I focused on something other than the ceiling. Angel's eyes looked big and worried. They were sky blue and intelligent, making her look decades older than the seven. Her small blonde ringlets curled around her face and down her back, she looked, well, angelic.

"I'm sorry baby." I told her, placing my hand over hers on my cheek. My voice sounded raspy from not using it for three days.

"We miss you, are you okay?" she whispered, coming closer to me.

"Yeah baby, I'm okay, I miss you guys too." I told her, my voice cracking. Tears sprang to my eyes. I blinked them away.

"What's that on your back" she asked me. I looked at her shocked. How did she know about the bruise? I looked down and saw that my tank top had risen up and the bruise on my lower back was completely visible. I rushed to pull it down and safely cover the bruise.

"Nothing, don't worry about it sweetie, I'm okay" I told her gently, covering up my back with my blanket. She stared at me disbelieving.

"Who hurt you Maxie?" she asked me gently, reaching over to run her hand along my blanket, where my lower back was.

"No one honey, it was just an accident, and you can't tell Jeb about it, he'll just worry." I told her seriously, making her look back at me.

"You have to promise me you won't tell him." I told her, leaning up on my elbow. Angel looked out the window for a second, considering my request.

"I promise." she told me, "But only if you get up and go back to school." she added. I nodded at her, knowing I had no choice.

"Only for you baby." I said softly, reaching out and tousling her hair, making her little curls bounce gently. She smiled up at me turning back into a happy seven year old. I pushed off the covers and placed my feet on the ground, instantly flinching from the cold. I stood on shaky legs and took a slow step forward. Satisfied, Angel turned away from me and ran out of the room. I could hear her run into Jeb's room, hopefully just telling him that I was up and on my feet.

I turned to my dresser and grabbed my favorite pair of jeans; the skinny ripped ones that fit just right, and my most comfortable tee. I went to the bathroom and stared in shock at my face. The dark circles under my eyes were strongly defined, my hair was messy and knotted, and my lips were red and chapped. First I washed my face and used some concealer to cover my dark circles, then I put on my best chapstick to smooth my lips, lastly I ran a comb through my tangled hair, getting rid of all the knots and braiding it into a silky side braid.

Finally satisfied I turned and went downstairs, stopping at the end of the stairs to slip on my black sneakers. Jeb stopped me just before I walked out the door to go to school.

"Good to see you up Max." he said placing a hand on my shoulder. I smiled at him, but it felt fake.

"Good to be up Jeb." I responded quickly. Before I could step away he pulled me into a hug, the bone crushing kind. I flinched hard and managed to refrain from crying out as he presses against the bruises on my side and back. After what seemed like an eternity he let go and stepped back.

"I love you Max, have a good day." he added, patting me on the shoulder and walking back to the kitchen to tend to the other's needs.

"I love you too Jeb." I called out to him, opening the door and stepping out into the world.

* * *

><p>The drive to school helped me clear my mind, I knew I was going to avoid Dylan at all costs, never speak to him again if possible. The only people I would trust were Ella, Iggy, and Fang.<p>

Feeling better about my choices and myself I walked quickly to my locker, only to tense up in fear when I noticed something stuck on my locker.

It was a rose.

I immediately knew who it was that put it up there, Dylan. I opened my locker only to see a white slip of paper fall from the shelf of my locker to the floor. I winced and rolled my eyes, it was just a note.

I reached down and opened it, not surprised by what it said.

_I'm so sorry Maximum, I love you. -Dylan_

In a burst of anger I crumpled it up and threw it back in my locker, banishing it to the depths. I wanted nothing to do with Dylan, and if he thought a stupid rose and an even more stupid note would get him off the hook, he was dead wrong. He hurt me, he didn't deserve me, or my love.

I slammed my locker closed and ripped the rose off of the metal.

"Shit!" I yelled out as a thorn pricked my pointer finger. I looked down and noticed a drop of blood already starting to form.

"Don't like the gift from your boyfriend?" I heard someone ask behind me.

"Shut up Fang." I said not bothering to turn around.

"What? He is your boyfriend right?" he asked me sarcastically, coming around to the front of me. I glanced up at him slightly, still struck by the gorgeousness of his slivery grey eyes.

"No. He's not anything to me." I told him through gritted teeth, my anger and hatred apparent. Fang looked at me, I could tell he was surprised, yet he seemed almost relieved.

"You two have a lovers spat?" he remarked with mock caring. I glared at him.

"Just shut up Fang okay, he's dead to me, that's all you need to know." I stated to him, my voice dripping with venom. Fang immediately backed off and my attention went back to my pointer finger, which now had a large drop of blood on it, ready to fall at any second.

"What happened to your finger?" Fang asked me softly, he grabbed my hand gently and pulled it closer to look at it.

"Stupid thorn pricked it." I explained softly. Without speaking Fang lifted my finger to his lips. My breath caught in my chest, I couldn't speak anymore. Fang parted his lips slightly and took the very end of my pointer finger into his mouth, gently licking off the blood. My tongue snaked out and wet my lips inadvertently. Fang looked at me; his eyes filled with some foreign emotion and then proceeded to drop my hand. I let it fall to my side, still staring into his eyes.

"Well good morning to you too." I told him, smirking slightly.

"You know what." Fang said suddenly, placing his arm around my shoulders, starting to lead me to class.

"What?" I asked him slightly suspicious.

"You should go to the dance with me on Friday." he said with so much bravado that I immediately busted out laughing.

"The dance? Really?" I asked him dubiously, still laughing. Fang nodded, not making eye contact.

"Yeah it will be tons of fun, plus I bet you look great in a dress." he told me with a wink, squeezing my shoulder gently.

"I'll have to buy a dress, and a ticket, and how will I get there? Is this like a date?" I questioned him, the words flowing from my lips as panic set in.

"I already have the ticket for you, I will drive you, and yes it's a date, I'll even take you out to dinner if you want." Fang responded with a smile in his voice. I tilted my head, thinking. When we reached the door to our class he paused, removing his arm from my shoulder.

"Just say yes Max, you know you want to, live a little." he begged me. I made the mistake of looking into his eyes, I couldn't say no to those eyes. I groaned.

"Yes." I whispered. Fang's smile grew so big, I didn't even know he could smile that big.

"I'll pick you up at six, we can go to dinner, and then I'll take you to the dance." he quickly told me, rushing to get all the words out before the bell rang for class.

"Okay." I groaned, already thinking about how I was going to have to buy a dress, I hated wearing a dress, I felt too much like a girlie girl. I looked up at Fang and he looked so happy that for a second I just smiled, he leaned over and kissed my cheek, lingering longer than necessary. His lips felt soft and warm against my skin. I blushed slightly and stared at the floor, silently moving past him into the classroom to my seat. He followed behind me taking his place two rows ahead of me.

The bell rang for class to start and soon I found myself lost in the world of numbers. But no matter what, that stupid smile would not leave my face.

I was going to my first dance.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry I'm late, who knew fall could get so busy, but luckily I have a great idea for the plot so hopefully you'll get some earlier updates. Enjoy guys! Thank you for all the reviews and favoritesfollows, it really keeps me writing. 3 Fly on lovelies.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 11**

The dance was in two days, which meant I had two days to buy a dress, shoes, and figure out how in the world I was going to make myself look presentable enough for a school dance, which meant I was going to need some help. The closest thing I ever got to dressing up was wearing something other than a tee to school.

"Hey Nudge?" I asked, silently slinking into her room, she was, of course, sitting in front of her vanity mirror applying on numerous coats of mascara.

"What's up Max?" she asked me casually, not looking up from her mirror.

"I need your help with something." I told her sheepishly. I ran the toe of my shoe along the carpet, refusing to meet her eyes in the mirror.

"What do you need my help for Max?" Nudge asked me pointedly. Nudge was almost three years younger than me, still in eighth grade while I was a junior, she should have been a freshman but her bio parents didn't send her to school so when Jeb adopted her she ended up starting a year late. She may have been younger but she was more knowledgeable than me when it came to makeup and clothes, and sometimes she seemed so mature despite her age.

"I sort of got asked to the dance this Saturday." I explained softly. Nudge whipped around so fast in her chair that I flinched.

"You got asked to the dance!" she practically yelled.

"Yeah." I groaned, sitting down on her bed. Nudge stared at me, her eyes wide.

"Why do I seem more excited about this than you? Who asked you? Do you have a dress? How are you going to do your hair and make-up?" she rambled off quickly.

"That's why I need your help, I don't have a dress, and you know I can't do my hair and make-up, I need you to do it. Will you help me?" I asked her softly, it was kind of embarrassing for me. I usually never paid attention to appearances, but I wanted to look good.

"Of course!" she squealed, clapping her hands together and running over to hug me.

"Thank you." I told her smiling.

"So who asked you?" she questioned me, loosening the hug and gripping my shoulders, forcing me to look her in the eyes.

"His name is Fang." I mumbled.

"Oh I know him! He's really cute; I think that this is going to be so great. I bet he's going to wear black so that's good because it means you can wear whatever color you want. I bet it's a semi-formal so we'll get you a short dress, something cute, oh my gosh you guys are so cute together I can't wait to go shopping, let's go now, since we only have two days to prepare, I think…."

"Okay Nudge." I said laughing, placing my hand over her mouth to quiet her down.

"We're leaving in five, be ready." I told her, walking out of her room to grab my wallet.

* * *

><p>Three hours later I had reached my breaking point. We had been to almost every store and I had tried on almost every dress, none of them were good enough for either me or Nudge. I had given up, I was ready to go home, and I would just tell Fang tomorrow that I couldn't go to the dance.<p>

"Come on Nudge, let's just go home." I murmured sadly. I attempted to grab her arm in an attempt to drag her out of the mall but she stood strong.

"Wait!" she commanded me loudly, stopping and turning to look at something hanging in a display window.

"No Nudge, this is hopeless, I want to leave, this was a stupid idea." I argued, pulling harder on her arm, but she would not budge.

"Max just look!" she begged me. I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly, finally turning to look at whatever she was staring at in the display window.

My mouth dropped open.

It was perfect. The perfect dress.

It was a deep smoky grey, and it was short, reaching just above my knees, falling straight. It was sleeveless with sheer, delicate black lace leading from the collarbone to a wonderfully curved sweetheart neckline that molded perfectly to the mannequins shape, the bodice was scalloped slightly, and there was a small lace belt starting from just above the mannequin's navel, it was thin and blended in with the dress. The whole thing was gorgeous, and it was perfect.

"Wow." I breathed, my mouth still open in shock.

"Told you, go try it on." Nudge prompted me, giving me a little shove towards the store entrance.

I walked in and told the first sales associate that I came across what I wanted. The woman led me over to the rack.

"There's only one left in stock." she told me, pulling it off the rack. It looked even more beautiful up close; I was scared to ask what the size was. Luckily Nudge wasn't, she reached over and grabbed the tag checking out the size.

"It's your size." Nudge told me. Suddenly I could breathe again. The sales associate smiled and handed the dress to me.

"Dressing rooms are right over there." she told us. We rushed over to the dressing rooms and I quickly shut the door, stripping off my clothes and slipping on the dress. It slid over my skin like silk and fit like a second skin. I twirled around and looked in the mirror.

I looked amazing.

"How's it going in there Max?" Nudge asked me hesitantly. She knocked on the door softly.

"Come on, let me see, I'm sure it looks great." she added, knocking a little louder. I shook my head, snapping out of my stupor and quickly opened the door.

For once, Nudge was speechless.

"So it looks like a yes." I said smugly. I was actually kind of proud; very few people had ever managed to make Nudge speechless.

I shut the door again and changed back into my regular clothes, taking off the dress with some small regret. I walked out of the dressing room to find Nudge already at the cash register, talking up the cashier, who was responding to her with a lot of enthusiasm. When I got close enough I realized they were talking about, surprise surprise, clothes. I rolled my eyes, smiling a little.

The dress ended up costing me about sixty bucks, which wasn't that bad Nudge told me.

When we got back to the house Angel was waiting for us, wanting to see the dress. I pulled it out of the bag and laid it on the couch for her to see. She of course told us it was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen and that whoever was taking me was the luckiest guy alive. Nudge agreed and then walked upstairs to take a shower. I stared lovingly at the dress, running my fingers gently along the bottom half.

"Is he the guy who hurt you?" Angel asked me suddenly, making me jerk up in surprise.

"No honey, why would you ask me that?" I questioned her gently, looking at her square in the eyes. She shrugged her little shoulders at me.

"Just wondering I guess." she explained softly. I stopped touching the dress and wrapped my arms around her. She was so tiny and fragile, yet so strong. I picked her up and held her in my arms. She wrapped her hands around my neck while I used my arms to support her bottom.

"I know I told you that what had happened was an accident, but you clearly know better than that so I want you to know that the guy who hurt me will never hurt me again, he's out of my life." I told her seriously, making sure she understood everything I was saying.

"Okay Maxie, I love you." Angel whispered, burying her face in my neck.

"I love you too baby girl, now let's get you up to bed." I responded, carrying her up the stairs to the room she shared with Gazzy.

An hour later my phone buzzed, telling me someone was calling me. I looked at the number but didn't recognize it.

Being me, and being stupid, I answered it.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly.

"Hey Maximum, glad to see that idiot actually gave me your real number" I heard a voice say.

"Dylan." I stated pointedly, my voice icy.

"I heard you were going to the dance?" he responded, unfazed by my icy attitude.

"I don't think that's any of your business." I retorted quickly.

"Of course it's my business, you're mine Maximum." he told me seriously.

"I was never and will never be yours Dylan, you disgust me." I barked into the phone.

"You better watch yourself gorgeous; I'm not so forgiving these days." Dylan warned.

"I noticed, my back is still bruised from the other day." I told him, my teeth gritted in anger.

"That was your fault, you shouldn't have pushed me over the edge like that." he explained nonchalantly. Suddenly it hit me. Gone was the Dylan I knew from the beginning of school. This was the real Dylan, crazy, violent, and obsessive, and I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Goodbye Dylan, forever." I told him seriously.

"Goodbye Maximum, but not forever, you'll see me again real soon." he said gently. Before he or I could day anything I hung up. He made me nervous and I was scared that he would ruin the dance for me, but I knew I would be with Fang. Although I didn't need him to protect me, I knew I would feel safer with him around. Dylan was not going to mess this up for me.

It was going to be the perfect night.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 12**

"So who's taking you to this dance again?" Jeb asked me for the fifth time that afternoon. The dance was today. It started in less than four hours, which meant I had two hours to get ready and then two hours to go out to eat with Fang before the dance started.

"I told you, Fang?" I replied for the thousandth time. Jeb was so pre-occupied with his work that he kept ignoring me, causing me to repeat myself numerous times. He was sitting at his desk, typing up some report on some new chemical him and his science buddies had founded.

"Fang?" he questioned me, still not looking up from his work.

"Yes, Fang." I told him rolling my eyes. Suddenly, Jeb turned his attention towards me, ignoring his precious work for just a minute.

"Is this the guy who almost kissed you in the nurse's office." he asked me pointedly.

"Yes Jeb." I responded irritably. I wanted to finish this conversation so that Nudge could start getting me ready, she told me she would need all of those two hours to make me look flawless.

"Hmmm I don't know." he murmured to himself quietly.

"Oh come on Jeb, he's not going to do anything to me, and you know I can take care of myself, I'm a tough girl." I pleaded. I contemplated getting on my knees and really begging to make my point. Jeb looked at me for a long time before replying.

"Okay Max, I trust you, don't get into any trouble, and stay safe, remember _the talk_ we had the other day." He stated bluntly, turning back around to continue his work. I scoffed a little at him for implying that I would be having sex tonight.

"Thank you Jeb! You won't regret this!" I told him, running up and hugging him from the side, planting a quick peck on his cheek.

Without another word I turned away from him and run up the stairs to Nudge's room, where she was waiting to begin my makeover.

"Go wash your face." she commanded me as soon as I walked in the door. I did as she said, returning a few minutes later to find that she had set up a whole make-up station, along with a slightly smaller hair station next to it. There were things on that table that I didn't even know about, bottles and bottles of peach colored liquid and sparkly tan compacts. There were bottles of mousse and gel and hairspray, and something Nudge called dry shampoo, whatever that was.

"Well, where do you want me?" I asked her after she had finished setting up. She turned around and studied me, taking in my hair and face.

"Let's start with your hair." she told me, pointing to a swivel chair in front of the designated "hair" station. I swiftly walked over and planted myself in the swivel chair. Nudge turned me so that I was unable to see myself in any of the mirrors she had hanging around the room.

"I don't want you to see yourself until I finish." she explained, grabbing a bottle of something. She sprayed some of the stuff in my hair, getting it all the way down to my roots, and then ran a brush through it.

"In case you're wondering that was heat protectant, since I'm going to be curling your hair, since you always wear it straight, I mean don't get me wrong, it looks great straight, but it's good to mix it up sometimes and you've never curled your hair before so I think it will look really pretty." Nudge rambled on. I simply nodded at her and let her do what she wanted.

An hour later my hair was done.

"Wow, that took a long time." I said, rolling my head around to crack my neck. Nudge didn't respond, she was in her zone now. She grabbed what I assumed was hairspray and practically drowned my hair in it. My hair was going to feel so crunchy. Tentatively I reached up to see how bad it was but surprisingly it still felt soft, yet full of hold.

Nudge was a miracle worker.

She quickly pushed the chair over to the make-up station and began squeezing different white liquids out of bottles onto my face. One said moisturizer and another said primer. I didn't know what she needed all these for but I wasn't going to question her.

For forty five minutes she used different brushes to sweep on powder and three different types of eye shadow and blush and some other stuff she called bronzer and highlighter. My face felt absolutely coated in thick powder. My eyelashes felt incredibly heavy from all the mascara she put on them. Eye liner was the hardest for her, my eye kept twitching, I couldn't help it, they just freaked, and I mean she was holding a liquid pen looking thing close to my eye. Lastly she swept some lip-gloss across my lips; I didn't even see the color.

Finally Nudge grabbed the dress that was hanging on the door and helped me strip and put it on without messing up my hair and make-up. After the dress was on, Nudge stepped back to survey her work, she seemed pleased, breaking out into a large smile.

"Okay, now you may look." she told me. Without saying anything I turned and looked into the full length mirror hanging on the back of her door.

I was stunned.

My long blonde hair was curled in large ringlets, there was a small delicate braid starting from just behind my left ear to the bottom right part of my neck, keeping all of the large loose curls pinned to one side falling over my shoulder, leaving my back bare. My face looked even and flawless. There were no blemishes and dark circles to be seen. My eyes looked large and smoky, surrounded by thick dark lashes, black and grey eye shadow blending together to make them look dark and mysterious. The eyeliner was black and winged ever so slightly, giving me a sultry look, the apples of my cheeks looked slightly flushed, pink and glowing, yet my face also looked more defined, my cheekbones standing out nicely. To complete the look were my lips, which appeared pouty, covered in a soft pink lip-gloss. The dress fell on me beautifully, hugging and accentuating every curve.

"Wow." I finally breathed out. I looked so different, and yet beautiful.

"You're welcome." Nudge said, smiling at my reaction. I was scared to touch my face or my hair; I didn't want to mess anything up.

"Here, the piece to resistance." Nudge said, holding out the strappy low back heels we bought, along with a tiny, fake diamond ring and small diamond earrings.

I slid on the shoes, taking a few steps to make sure I was capable of walking. Then I grabbed the ring and earrings from Nudge quickly putting them on to finish the look. It was perfect timing too. As soon as the ring was in place, we heard the doorbell ring, signaling Fang's arrival.

"Eeeeep, he's here!" Nudge squealed, running out of the room and down the stairs to open the door for Fang. I took a deep breathe, and slowly followed her.

I could hear Nudge and Fang talking, but all conversation stopped as soon as my feet hit the floor.

Fang looked amazing. He had on a black suit and a black dress shirt with a silver tie that matched his eyes, and amazingly my dress. He looked so handsome. I was so caught up in how good he looked that I didn't notice that Fangs mouth had dropped open at the sight of me.

"You look….just…wow." Fang managed to get out, his voice shifting slightly as he tried to speak.

"He's right Max, you look beautiful, you're no longer a little girl anymore." I heard Jeb say as he came up behind me. He put his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, giving him a little side hug.

"Thanks Jeb, I love you too." I whispered back.

"And you better treat her right Fang, she's important to me." Jeb said sharply to Fang. Fang nodded quickly, snapping out of his shock.

"Yes sir." he replied seriously, reaching out to shake Jebs hand.

"Well, now that all the introductions have been made, we should go." I said with a laugh. Fang smiled at me gently, opening the door and gesturing for me to go out first.

"Have a good time guys." Jeb called out behind us.

"Yeah! Next time you can meet Gazzy and Angel." Nudge added. I smirked and rolled my eyes at her, she was so weird sometimes, but I totally owed her for this makeover. Fang nodded at her then gently shut the door.

"Well, I guess we better go if we want to make our reservations." Fang said softly, placing his hand on the small of my back and leading me down the walkway to his car. He opened the passenger door for me and shut it behind me after I had slid my legs in and settled comfortably into the soft interior seating.

"So where are we going?" I asked him curiously as he got into the driver's seat.

"You'll see." he replied smugly, buckling his seatbelt and putting the car into gear and slowly pulling out of the driveway. I chuckled under my breath and gently shook my head.

The ride went smoothly, we talked about school and teachers and peers. Complaining about the weird drug scene going on, and how the kids were so stupid for taking random stimulants and how the teachers were even more stupid for not noticing and stopping them. We avoided talking about Dylan, neither one of us wanted to bring him up. Before I knew it we were pulling up to a fancy looking Italian restaurant.

"This looks really expensive Fang." I told him, my stomach forming knots.

"It's not, it's just fancy looking, trust me, I have enough to cover the both of us." he reassured me. I felt bad about him paying for my dinner, but he had expressed that this was a date, and I wasn't to pay for anything, I mean I wasn't going to argue, its free food.

We got out of the car and walked inside the restaurant, it was pleasantly warm inside, and I felt comfortable in the dimly lit atmosphere. The aroma of warm French bread filled my nose, making my mouth water. There weren't that many people there, but just enough that it stayed busy.

"Nick, party of two." he told the hostess as I glanced around the restaurant. I turned to look at him as we were led to our table.

"Nick?" I asked him as we sat down. Fang pulled open the napkin and set it on his lap before responding.

"My bio mom gave me that name when I was born but it never felt like my name so when Iggy started calling me Fang, I went with it, and it stuck. Fang is my real name, not Nick, it's just sometimes people take you more seriously when you have an actual name to put down instead of my nickname." he explained quietly, not meeting my eyes.

"But I thought you weren't adopted?" I questioned him, clearly confused.

"I am, and so is Iggy. We were both in and out of foster care together until we were nine, then our mom, our current mom, adopted us together when I demanded we wouldn't be separated. She let keep being called Fang." he told me softly, his eyes finally meeting mine, so full of emotion. He looked devastated, and I could understand, I had felt devastated too.

"What happened with your bio mom?" I asked him.

"She was a druggie, couldn't provide for me so as soon as she had me she placed me on a doorstep and never looked back." Fang answered me, his voice taking on a hard edge. I stared at him for a second before reaching over to grab his hand resting on the table. He glanced down at my hand on his then shifted so that he was holding it across the table. I smiled warmly at him.

"It's okay Fang, you're here now, with me, and I won't ever leave you." I told him seriously. I meant it too. I would never leave Fang; he was an amazing person, and my best friend.

"Thank you Max." he whispered to me, using his thumb to rub gentle circles into my wrist.

"Well we better order so we can get to the dance on time." he said with a laugh, lightening the mood. I laughed with him and we both turned our attention to the menus.

The rest of dinner went smoothly. We made a lot of small talk, sticking to things we liked and things we hated, about life in general, and about our friends, which mostly meant Ella and Iggy. Dinner tasted amazing, I got spaghetti and Fang got a Stromboli. Both tasted amazing, Fang let me try some of his meal since it smelled so delicious. Honestly it was one of the best's times I had had in a while, and Fang was an amazing guy, I didn't know if it was love, but I definitely felt something for him, something strong.

Before I knew it we were back in his car on the way to the dance, it was being held at the school, in the cafeteria.

We made our way into the school, handing the usher our tickets and walking smoothly into the cafeteria where the music was so loud I could barely hear Fang next to me. There was a sea of bodies in the room, it was kind of overwhelming. It was dark but there were bright colored lights flying across the walls and the people standing in the center of the room dancing. It seemed almost crude the way they were dancing. I felt my anxiety rising and panic set in; I was three seconds from turning around and running out of that place when I felt Fang grab my hand and hold it tight. Suddenly I could breathe again. Fang was with me, I wasn't alone.

He led me over the more open outer ring of the dance circle on the other side of the room where we could both spread out and dance.

"You know, I think I forgot to tell you how absolutely beautiful you are tonight." he said loudly, leaning down to speak into my ear so I could hear him. I blushed softly looking down to the floor smiling. Fangs hand came up to gently lift my chin to look him in the eyes. I saw strong emotion there but I couldn't place it. For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

Before he could do anything though were joined by Iggy and Ella, who both looked amazing as well. Ella had on a green dress that showed off her curves to full height, and Iggy had on a white dress shirt with a green tie and black slacks, matching Ella, showing they were a couple. They both said their quick hellos before starting to dance. Ella held on to Iggy's hand so they wouldn't be separated and so he would always know she was beside him since there were so many people and the music was loud.

Fang and I danced alongside each other, bopping up and down to the music. Ella and I at one point started grinding on each other, her in the back with me in the front, Fang just watched us, mesmerized. Fang smiled as the song ended and grabbed my wrist pulling me to him.

"You're so incredibly sexy, you know that?" he purred in my ear. I smirked at him.

"Wishing you could have a taste?" I asked coyly, slipping out of his grasp. He smirked back at me and continued dancing.

Finally though, they played what I had been waiting all night for, a slow song.

As soon as the first few notes played, Ella grabbed Iggy and turned away from us to start dancing. Fang leaned in towards me and placed his hands on my waist. I slid my hands up his chest and clasped them together behind his neck. We swayed gently with the music, not speaking, just looking into each other's eyes, completely mesmerized. After a minute the electricity between us became too much for us and we both leaned in, tilting our heads slightly in opposite directions.

Then, we were kissing.

His lips felt so soft and full, they fit perfectly with mine. My grip around his neck tightened as I tilted my head more, deepening the kiss. Fangs hands slid from my waist to grip together tightly at the small of my back. We were pressed together as close as could be as our lips got familiar with each other. I felt a warm tingling sensation flow through my body, starting from my lower belly going outwards. Sadly all too soon the song ended, and so did our kiss. I looked up at him to find him smiling. He looked so happy that I couldn't help smiling too.

"You're amazing Max, the most incredible girl I have ever known." he told me, cupping my face in his hands.

"I think you're incredible too." I replied honestly. With that he gave me one more soft kiss then led me out of the dance, holding my hand gently. It was a little early, but only slightly. The dance would end in about thirty minutes, and I had already had my fun, I was ready to leave.

The air outside was chilly and I shivered, causing Fang to put his arm around me and pull me closer to him.

"Here, let's go down here, it will get us to the car faster." he explained, leading me down an alleyway between the two school buildings. It was dark in the alley but I could still clearly see Fang and the walls thanks to the moon.

We had gotten halfway down the alley when I heard something strange.

"Well, well, well Maximum, it looks like you had a great time at the dance." a voice said. Immediately I tensed up, clutching tightly onto Fangs dress shirt. I turned around slowly and only said one word.

"Dylan."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 13**

"Dylan."

"In the flesh Maximum, oh and hello Fang, glad to see you moved quickly onto my girl, classy." Dylan said with forced laughter.

"Why don't you just shut up Dylan and leave us be." Fang growled angrily.

"Can't, you see that's my girl you were all over at the dance." Dylan explained casually. Fang let go of my shoulder and started to approach Dylan. Before he could take more than a couple steps I reached my arm out to stop him, grabbing his forearm.

"I can handle him, don't approach him, I don't want you two to fight." I whispered to him gently, pulling him back to me.

"Yeah come on Fang, she can take care of herself." Dylan mocked. I sneered at him then approached him cautiously, as if he were a dangerous animal, which in a way, he was.

"What do you want Dylan? Why are you here?" I asked him gently, my hands held out in front of me, palms out.

"Come on Maximum," he said sarcastically, "you know what I want, you know what I'm here for."

"Me." I whispered softly, the realization finally hitting me, he was never going to give me up. Dylan smiled at me, but his smile was full of malice, and I was scared. It just hit me how dark it was, how the shadows fell across his face making him look like a demon that spawned from the depths of hell, my own personal demon.

"You're finally figuring it out aren't you Maximum. You were always mine, ever since the first day when we met in the library." Dylan told me, taking a small step towards me. I stepped back, frightened. He was crazy, a total psychopath.

"I was never yours Dylan." I stated angrily, courage and bravery taking over. I wasn't going to keep letting Dylan scare me into submission, I was going to fight back.

"I made a mistake in thinking you could be my friend, and an even bigger mistake in kissing you, you're a monster." I said, my voice rising. I could hear Fang take a couple steps closer to me, in case something went wrong, but I shot him a look warming him to stay back, this was my fight.

"Watch yourself Maximum." Dylan warned, but I was no longer afraid. I advanced on him, pushing him towards the brick wall of the alley.

"No!" I yelled, reaching out and shoving him as hard as I could, shoving him into the dirty wall.

"You lied to me, you fooled me, you hurt me, and I will always hate you for it!" I screamed, pounding into his chest with my fists. I had never been so angry in my life, I was consumed with rage, all I could see was red.

Suddenly I felt a sharp pain across my face. I gasped sharply, stepping away from Dylan.

He had hit me, slapped me right across the face.

"Your dead!" I heard Fang yell from somewhere behind me.

Before I could do anything Dylan moved. He struck out and grabbed my wrist, turning me around to press his chest against my back, locking my arm in a painful grip, putting pressure on both my wrist and shoulder. I yelped out and winced in pain. When my eyes finally focused I noticed Fang was about five feet away from us, knees slightly bent, arms held out in surrender. Behind me I could hear Dylan breathing hard.

For a minute, nobody moved or spoke.

Finally Dylan broke the silence.

"Well now that you've gotten that out of the way, how about you let me speak." he taunted. I squirmed against him, causing him to tighten his grip sending shocks of pain up my arm.

"Oh relax Maximum, it's not all about you." he said mockingly.

"Come on man, just let her go." Fang begged.

"Now why would I do that?" Dylan asked. "She's finally in a good position, all I have to do is force her to her knees and turn her around, then she can provide a public service." he laughed.

"Fuck you Dylan." I growled angrily, but he just laughed.

Fang didn't say anything, but I could see the anger on his face.

"Come on Fang, lighten up, we both know what a slut she is." Dylan said. Suddenly I felt his other hand touch my hip and slide down to the end of my dress. His fingers played with the soft edge for a moment before touching my outer thigh. I struggled against him, sliding my leg over to get away from his touch, but he simply tightened his hold on my arm causing me to call out.

Fang stepped towards us, trying to figure out a way to get me out of Dylan's grasp. He looked at me and I could see it in his eyes, fear.

"I'm not a slut." I growled at Dylan.

"Oh come on Maximum, all three of us know you are, and it's okay, I can share." he told me softly, his breath tickling the outer shell of my ear. His voice caused my lips to curl up in disgust.

"I will never, ever be with you." I told him menacingly. He was in the position of power, and although I was scared shitless, I wasn't going to let it show.

"Don't be like that Maximum, I know how much I turn you on, I remember you moaning on the couch with me." Dylan said seductively in my ear. Against my better judgment I attempted to pull out of his grasp only succeeding to gain about an inch before he pulled me back in.

"I bet she didn't tell you about that did she Fang? How I made her moan with my lips as I laid her down on the couch ready to ravish her." he asked with mock confusion.

"No, she didn't." Fang retorted solidly. I looked up at him afraid, but he didn't look angry, he looked scared for me.

"Shut up Dylan." I whispered savagely.

"Oh, did you not want me to tell your new boyfriend all about our extra activities?" Dylan questioned sarcastically. His fingers slid up my outer thigh under my dress, reaching for the side of my panties and playing with the elastic.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Her." Fang commanded him, deadly serious. I could feel Dylan smirk against my ear.

"But she's all mine." Dylan told him, leaning over to kiss the exposed part of my neck. I jerked my head away from him but he simply followed it, kissing harder. He nibbled gently on my pulse point. I looked at Fang desperately. He glanced at my feet causing me to look down, I was confused for a moment but I quickly got his message.

"I love you Maximum." Dylan whispered softly in my ear, sounding for a second like the sweet Dylan I had met in the library.

"I love you too." I responded just as sweetly. My response shocked Dylan, causing him to loosen his hold on my arm and give me the advantage I needed.

I took the sharp heel of my shoe and quickly stabbed it into the thick exterior of Dylan's foot, putting all my weight behind it. Dylan yelled out and let go of my arm allowing me to wrench free of him. From the corner of my eye I saw Fang reach out and punch Dylan square on the nose. I heard a sickening crunch. I whirled around just in time to see Dylan fall to the ground holding his nose while Fang stood above him, breathing hard. His hands were clenched into fists.

"I told you that you were dead." Fang said harshly.

Dylan looked up at Fang, then at me, a few feet behind Fang. His hands moved away from his nose to reveal blood, it was broken.

Dylan glanced down and saw the blood on his hands then started laughing. A loud piercing sound that sent chills down my spine. It was the laugh of a mad man.

Fang watched Dylan for a moment before backing away and grabbing my hand, together we turn and ran down the alleyway, not stopping until we were safely in his car. We both sat for a moment in quiet, breathing loudly, trying to catch our breath.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I can't go home like this." I asked Fang softly. My face and arm still stung from Dylan and I was clearly shaken up.

"What are you going to tell Jeb?" Fang asked gently.

"I'll just text him and tell him I'm staying with Ella." I answered, pulling out my phone to send a quick text to Jeb. Five minutes later he responded with a quick "okay, have fun."

"See, we're all good." I told Fang, showing him the text.

"Okay." he answered. Fang quickly and quietly pulling out of the parking lot and getting on the road towards his house.

Fifteen minutes later we were there. Without a word Fang led me into his house and up to his room. The house was dark and silent, empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked , settling myself on the edge of Fangs bed.

"They're all out of town for the weekend, camping." he explained.

"Why aren't you with them?" I questioned. Fang came and sat beside me on his bed. It was comfortable and soft.

"Because I wanted to go to the dance with you." he answered sheepishly.

We sat together for a moment in silence. Suddenly I spoke.

"I need to show you something, but you have to promise me you won't get upset."

Fang nodded at me slowly, he seemed almost nervous. I took a deep breath and stood up. I took a couple steps forward, keeping my back to him. I reached down and grabbed the edges of my dress and in one swift movement pulled it up and over my head, tossing it to the side, out of the way. I heard Fang take in a sharp gasp and I knew he had noticed the bruise.

"How did you get that?" he asked me softly.

"Dylan came over to my house on that day I played sick and when I told him I made a mistake and that I didn't love him he hurt me. He pushed me into the sharp edge of a table." I explained, not turning around. I heard Fang get up and walk towards me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. I trusted him, I just felt extremely vulnerable in my bra and panties.

I felt his fingers softly brush over the bruise. Instinctively I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. Suddenly Fang spun me around, grabbing my shoulders gently and looking deep into my eyes.

"Hit me Max." he whispered gently.

"What!" I exclaimed shocked. I backed away slowly, not dropping eye contact with him.

"Hit me Max, I deserve it." Fang told me softly, reaching his hand over to the edge of his shirt and sliding it off over his head in one smooth movement, throwing it aside as well.

"No Fang, I won't." I told him, my eyes widening.

"Do it Max, I deserve it, I wasn't there for you when that bastard hurt you, I want you to hit me." he told me, his voice steadily getting stronger. He took a step towards causing me to step back and press my back against the wall.

"I won't" I whispered.

"Please." Fang begged me, taking another step towards me. Now there was only a couple of inches between us, I couldn't move any farther back.

"No." I told him softly, my voice so quiet I could barely hear it.

"Please." he whispered, moving even closer to me, until our lips were almost touching.

And then, I kissed him. I slid my arms around his neck and pressed my bare torso against his. He immediately responded, sliding his arms around my bare waist and kissing me back, tilting his head to deepen it. He opened his mouth slightly allowing me to slip my tongue in. He tasted sweet, like sugar. He responded by tasting me back, pushing me firmly against the wall so every inch of him was pressed up against me, his hands moved from my waist to my hips, sliding up to run along the sides of my bare stomach.

Suddenly he stepped back, pulling me with him, he sat down on the bed, not breaking the kiss. On instinct I leaned into him more, pushing him back onto the bed so he was laying down. We kissed some more, his hands running along my back, being careful of the bruise. He rolled over so that he was on top, removing his lips from mine to kiss my jaw, trailing soft sweet kisses that felt like fire all the way down my neck.

I never want this to end I thought. But it did. Fang sat up after giving my collarbone a gentle nip. He moved away from me, leaning back against his headboard. I followed suit, sitting up and leaning back against his headboard as well.

"We should stop." he told me gently. Part of me didn't want to but I knew he was right.

"I know." I responded quietly.

"We should go to sleep, it's been a long night." Fang whispered. For once I agreed, it had been a long night, and I was tired.

"You're right." I told him, lifting up the covers getting ready to settle under them.

"Here you can sleep in this, I'll go sleep on the couch." Fang said tossing me one of his over sized t-shirts from the dresser. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket and started walking out of the room.

"Wait!" I called out to him. Fang froze, looking at me intently.

"You can sleep in here with me." I told him firmly. He looked unsure, halfway turned toward the door and halfway turned toward the bed.

"Come on Fang, I won't bite, and I don't really want to sleep alone tonight." I explained exasperated. I took the t-shirt he gave me and slipped it on, it went all the way down to my mid-thighs, covering me well, it was black of course.

"Okay." Fang mumbled finally giving up on the idea of sleeping on the couch. He returned to the bed and put his pillow back in place. I smiled at him and laid back in the bed, covering myself with the covers, I turned away from Fang, putting my back towards him but I could still feel him get into bed next to me and slide the covers up, it felt deliciously warm in the bed with him. I rolled over to find him already facing me, quietly he leaned over and kissed me softly.

"Goodnight Max." he whispered.

"Goodnight Fang." I whispered back, closing my eyes for the night.

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><p><strong>Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it, don't forget to review, those things really keep me writing, tell me what you think of the story, good or bad, where you want it to go, things like that. And don't forget to fly on lovelies! *heart*<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Maximum Ride characters, all of that is owned by the wonderful James Patterson**

**Reviews and Favorites are welcomed :)**

**Chapter 14**

The first thing I noticed upon waking was a body pressed up against mine. It was firm yet soft. Then I remembered it was Fang. The events from last night came back to me and I recalled Dylan attacking us, our narrow escape, and kissing Fang. I smiled quietly to myself at the thought of kissing Fang.

Suddenly I felt his arm drape over me and pull me closer to him. He had curled his body around mine, effectively becoming the big spoon. I moved back, attempting to snuggle even closer to him. Fang let out a low moan in his sleep; I could feel his warm breath tickling the nape of my neck.

I closed my eyes trying to go back to sleep but was forced awake when I felt something hard poking into my lower back. What the hell is that I thought to myself. Then I realized what it was.

My mouth opened in shock and I had to refrain from literally laughing out loud. Fang was sporting some hard "morning wood". It was pretty uncomfortable pressing into my lower back so I tried to casually reach behind me and shift his…..thing….between my legs. It was awkward as hell and as soon as I placed my hand around it to move it Fang shot awake.

"What the fuck?" he asked blinking in surprise. I winced and turned around to face him, holding the blankets around me. Fang stared at me for a moment.

"Hi." I whispered nervously.

"Hi, sorry Max, I just didn't expect you to try and cop a feel while I was still sleeping. Actually I had forgotten you were here; I'm not used to having beautiful women in my bed." Fang told me gently. I blushed at his "beautiful" comment.

"I wasn't trying to cop a feel." I stammered to him, my face red. Fang smirked at me and pulled me closer to him, landing a soft kiss on my nose. Suddenly I was very aware of the fact that I was just in a long t-shirt and underwear. I had no bra on and the tee has risen up to navel.

"Sure you weren't." Fang retorted, his voice dipping low and taking on a seductive tone. Without responding I leaned in and kissed his lips gently. Fang pulled me on top of him and rolled on his back, kissing me back with rising passion. I moaned into his lips and parted mine to allow him entrance. I felt him run his fingers from my arms along my back to firmly cup my ass. He was still hard underneath me. I shifted so that I was straddling him. Fang continued running his hands lower, moving them to my silky thighs and back up to grip my hips.

I smirked knowingly. I began to grind against his hard member causing soft moans from Fang. He moved his lips to my neck, sucking and biting as I grinded harder and faster.

"Oh Max." he moaned into my neck, biting down hard on my shoulder, making me gasp in pleasure ad pain. I reached down to run my hands along his chest, making my way down to his boxers where I stared toying with the edges. Fang tugged on the edges of my tee and I knew what he wanted.

I sat up straight and pulled the tee off of me. Fangs eyes grew wide with lust. He wanted me, and he knew I could see it. I leaned back down to kiss him but he had other ideas. He jerked his hips up thrusting against my heat making me gasp out in pleasure. He moved his lips to my breasts, taking the nipple between his teeth gently and playing with it with his tongue causing me to moan louder. With his other hand he reached up and massaged my other breast.

I started coming down with each one of his thrusts up, wishing I could remove the last two pieces of clothing between us.

"Oh God!" I called out breathlessly. I didn't think I was going to last much longer. I could feel Fang smirk as he continued working on my breast with his mouth.

After a few more thrusts from Fang I couldn't contain myself anymore, I yelled out loudly, saying his name as my legs grew weak. Fang gave one last strong thrust and came as well. His lips moved from my breast to my lips, giving me a soft kiss.

"Well that was intense." I chuckled as we both attempted to steady our breathing.

"I think I need a shower, or at least to change my underwear." Fang responded lightly. I looked down at him; he looked so delicious underneath me, his grey eyes piercing into mine.

"I love you Max." he whispered. My eyes widened in shock.

"Oh fuck." he said, pushing me off of him. He looked frazzled as he got out of the bed and began pacing the floor.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, genuinely confused. I didn't understand why he was so upset. Fang didn't respond, just kept pacing the floor.

"Fang?" I asked him slightly louder, he continued to ignore me. I got up from the bed slowly and stood in front of him, placing my hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"Fang, look at me, what's wrong?" I asked him seriously. He looked at me, clearly pained.

"I don't want you to get scared and run off, I mean the last guy who told you he loved you ended up being a psycho stalker, and I didn't want you to think I would end up anything like that freak." Fang explained. I smiled at him soothingly, reaching up to run my hand along his cheek.

"Fang, I know you're nothing like him, you would never hurt me, and you can't scare me off." I responded. Fang pulled me into him and kissed me. It was a slow passionate kiss, the kind that lingers long after your lips have stopped touching.

"I love you too." I whispered after the kiss ended. Fang stepped back in shock then grabbed my waist and swung me around. I laughed loudly as he put me down. Fang just smiled at me, his eyes sparkling.

"We should get cleaned up." Fang commented, leading me to the shower.

"You can go first." he added, grabbing some clothes out of his drawers and handing them to me.

"Why don't we shower together?" I asked him seductively, pulling him into the bathroom with me by his hips. Fang smirked at me but slowly removed my hands from his hips.

"There will be other times for that, why don't you go get cleaned up now." he told me with a small laugh. I pouted at him but took the clothes and headed into the shower, turning on the water, making it steamy. Fang rolled his eyes jokingly and closed the door. I laughed and stripped down, stepping into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later I was out of the shower and sitting comfortably on Fags bed waiting for him to come out of the shower. I was wearing one of Fangs sweatpants, boxers, and t-shirt. I smiled to myself, recalling the events that had led up to this point, I couldn't wait to make love with Fang, and I knew it would be wonderful.

A chirp from my phone caused my thoughts to scatter. I glanced down and saw a text from Nudge.

**We're all leaving to go run some errands; Jeb wants you to come home and clean.**

I groaned and rolled my eyes sending her a quick **k**.

"I'm leaving, I have to get home." I called out to Fang. I heard him mumble back a response from the shower but I kept going. I quietly walked down the stairs and out the door, hugging myself to keep warm in the cold wind.

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><p><strong>Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. The holidays came up and school got busy and so did life, also to be honest I had a serious case of writers block, but I know where I want the story to go now and I hope you'll stay with me until the end. Fly on lovelies. <strong>


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